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iamnikoli · 4 months

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AY23/24 Sem 1 Module Reviews

This sem is probably the most difficult sem of my degree acads wise. Since I scored much better than expected in Year 1, I could afford to fully focus on core modules that would teach me useful skills related to my major. Hence, I decided to take 4 core modules, namely CS2040, DSA2101, DSA2102 and MA2311, along with GEN2061X. I did slightly underload to give myself more time for CS2040, which has a very high workload. I was also expecting a drop in GPA since most of the modules I took this sem weren't exactly easy or fluff. Nonetheless, I grew much closer to the friends I worked with in the different mods, and it made all the difference to my mental well-being as well as my academic performance.

CS2040

Module Coordinator & Lecturer: Dr Chong Ket Fah

T/A: Gary (tutorial), Chao Ming (lab), Sourabh (lab)

Lecture Topics/Schedule:

Week 1: Course Admin + Intro to Java, Analysis of Algorithms 1 Week 2: Analysis of Algorithms 2, Sorting 1 Week 3: Sorting 2, List ADT 1 (Array List, Linked List, Stack, Queue) Week 4: List ADT 2 Week 5: Map ADT (HashTable) Week 6: Priority Queue ADT (Binary Heap) Week 7: Disjoint Sets ADT (Union Find Disjoint Set), Ordered Map ADT 1 (Binary Search Tree/AVL Tree) Week 8: Ordered Map ADT 2, Graph Intro + Graph DS Week 9: Graph Traversal and Applications 1 Week 10: Graph Traversal and Applications 2, Minimum Spanning Tree Week 11: Single Source Shortest Path 1 Week 12: Single Source Shortest Path 2, All Pairs Shortest Path Week 13: Revision

Deliverables:

Tutorial attendance/participation - 3% Lab attendance - 2% One-Day Assignments (ODAs) - 1.5% x10 Take Home Assignments (THAs) 1.5% x8 qns, 2 qns per assignment Visualgo Quiz - 4% x2 Midterm - 20% Final Exam - 40%

Other Comments:

Although this module is hard (as you probably already know), I would say I enjoyed it for the most part. First of all, Dr Chong Ket Fah is an amazing lecturer, and he explains things very clearly. This made understanding the difficult concepts a lot easier. Dr Chong is also very nice and understanding towards students, for example, I fell sick one day before a one-day assignment and he extended my ODA deadline to the day after my MC ended which was basically one week later lol. These things might seem insignificant but they are highly appreciated by students (me at least).

There was a lot of content to cover in this module, and frankly, it can sometimes get overwhelming. On paper, there are 3 hours of lectures every week on Zoom exclusively, but Prof Chong often overruns to about 4-5 hours of lecture time a week. Not to worry, the lectures are recorded and you can watch them later. It is paramount that you keep up to pace with the lectures as it's not realistic to cram all of it in reading week, anyway you'll need the lecture content 1-2 weeks later to solve the ODAs and THAs. Also, we're expected to learn Java within the first 2 weeks, as prof does not teach java, he just gave us a learning package/crash course to do on our own. This is very important for students with no Java background like DSA students because we'll be expected to complete all our coding assignments in Java from end of week 2/week 3 onwards.

I attended the tutorial slot by Gary, and Gary is absolutely goated. He is very clear in explaining things, and often talks about potential extensions/modifications to the questions which may come up in the exams. This was very helpful in cultivating the sort of skills and thought process needed in the midterms/finals. Gary is also very chill and dedicated, we can message him on Telegram if we have any questions, and usually the night before the exams, he would stay up all night to answer questions that we had. Where are you gonna find such a dedicated TA HAHAHA please give this man a raise The only not-so-good thing about the tutorials is that the bulk of questions are pseudocode/coming up with algorithm questions, but the majority of questions in the exam are MCQ. I would've liked to see more of the latter in the tutorials as many of us felt unprepared for MCQ-style questions in the exams. From my understanding, the exams used to be a lot heavier in pseudocode questions, which might explain such an emphasis on such questions in the tutorial. If so, the tutorials might need a refresh.

Labs are essentially dedicated to solving ODA questions, and you can ask your lab TAs if you're stuck on either the ODAs or THAs. Apparently, they are also the ones that grade them. For me, I left my whole Friday empty in case I got stuck on an ODA and needed more time to solve it, since you have to complete in 24 hours. I also worked on the problem before my lab slot, like once the assignment opened at 10am. This was to ensure I made full use of my lab TAs expertise during the precious 2 hours if I got stuck, instead of trying to understand the question and come up with a first iteration to solve it. The ODAs in general were not terribly difficult though. As for the lab TAs, most of us preferred to talk to Chao Ming because he was more approachable and helpful. However, we often don't understand each other's algorithm suggestions HAHAHA. On the other hand, Sourabh was very passive. Maybe he was in charge of doing the assignment grading? But my friend asked him questions on telegram and got blue-ticked (I think more than once) so there's that. Oh also, you're required to submit pseudocode before or during the lab which also acts as your lab attendance grade, which is why you should start working on it before the lab because 2 hours to do pseudocode and actually code and debug is very tight.

THAs were more difficult, and I spent about 1-4 days on each question. There were 4 THAs in total, 2 questions in each THA. Discussing algorithms with friends really helps because a lot of these problems are not straightforward and require a good grasp of lecture content along with creativity. Unlike CS1010, your code now has to be efficient and meet the required run-time, otherwise it will not be accepted. Hence, talking to friends to see if there are other more efficient ways of solving the problem is highly efficient on your time needed to solve the THAs. Do note that looking at other people's code is not allowed, as mentioned by the prof so just be careful not to show actual code when discussing. The worst THA though probably has to be the AVL tree one, it was incredibly painful to have to build the AVL tree on your own and do all the rotations. Maybe deforestation isn't so bad after all Nonetheless, you should score full marks for both the ODAs and THAs as most people do after countless tries or discussing algorithms with friends.

Midterms and finals were pretty similar, exams were on Examplify and the bulk of it was MCQ questions, with 2-3 pseudocode/come-up-with-algorithm questions. The midterm tested until hashtables and was apparently harder than finals. As many of you know, Prof Chong sets hard papers so be prepared. Make sure you read the question properly as there's a lot of constraints/things to look out for to get the correct answer. Prof's questions also tend to be very long and confusing so it might take a lot of time and brain-power to understand what's going on in the question. Exams were open-book closed internet, the midterm was 1.5 hours and the final exam was 2 hours. You have to have a good grasp of the various algorithms, how they work, how their time complexities are derived and subsequently in what situations each algorithm works best/worst. I highly recommend working on the pseudocode questions at the end first because they need more time to think and come up with the solution, and if you don't know anything just write something out, and you'll get at least one mark. The MCQs can still be guessed if you run out of time, but try to do them well because they form the bulk of the marks. Do lots of PYPs to get a feel of the MCQ questions and see how the pseudocode questions should be answered. Also, for the pseudocode questions, I observed that writing in paragraphs/essay-style is much better than the usual code style because there's more ambiguity and it's easier for the marker to understand your algorithm's logic compared to code-style which will often be ridden with errors. For finals, prof actually dropped quite a few hints when he was going through the PYPs without answers in Week 13 lectures so do make sure to watch that. My score for the midterm was 58/100 (77th percentile), and the final exam was 75/95 (93rd percentile). Midterm stats 0 39 47 56 95, finals stats 0 41 50 62 91. Finals was originally out of 100, but there was an issue with the time complexity required and getting the correct answer (apparently the solution to solve it in that time complexity results in overcounting) in the last pseudocode questions, so prof re-based it to 5 instead of 10 marks and marked according to the next best algorithm to get the right answer.

Lastly, there were 2 Visualgo quizzes held during lab slots, one in Week 7 and the other in Week 13. Make sure to practise a lot of Visualgo questions in hard mode. I found the week 13 quiz much harder because the later topics were harder, especially MST. As a result, I got 14/15 for it because I got the 2nd best MST question wrong (so saddd). The first quiz was pretty easy though. Most people get full marks for both so.

All in all, I find this module difficult but also rewarding. A lot of the concepts taught are important, for example, I'm working on a project now that makes use of what I learnt in 2040. All the best to those taking it in future sems, rest assured Dr Chong is a very good prof and you're in good hands! Just put in the work and you should stay afloat

TLDR:

High workload, don't overload (in fact try to underload) when taking this mod Leave your Fridays empty to work on the ODAs Learn Java ahead of time if you can to get used to the syntax, don't leave THAs to the last minute because you need time. Discuss with friends to maximise efficiency on coding assignments Do PYPs and understand how each algo works, how the time complexity comes about, when to use what algo Do lots of Visualgo practice for the quizzes

Grades:

Expected grade: A- Actual grade: A

DSA2101

Module Coordinator & Lecturer: Dr Huang Yuting

T/A: Augustine

Lecture Topics:

R programming.

Importing data into R.

Data manipulation with R (Tidyverse)

Principles of data visualization.

Introduction to the grammar of graphics (ggplot2)

Exploring data through visualization.

Deliverables:

Tutorial Attendance - 5% DataCamp assignments - 10% Group project - 15% Midterm - 30% Finals - 40%

Other Comments:

This module has a pretty light workload, and the content is quite straightforward. It's a coding mod about data cleaning and visualisation using R. I thought I would be disadvantaged as I was pre-allocated DSA1101 in Sem 1 last year under Dr Sun, which had little coding emphasis and more stats/math, whereas in Sem 2 Dr Daisy Pham took over and revamped the whole module to essentially be about R coding. However, the first few weeks of lectures were about R coding and it was more than enough time to catch up. Also, it turns out that I'm quite quick at debugging in R, which is a great asset in exams. Dr Huang is a good lecturer in my opinion, she is concise and emphasises on the important things. Lectures are basically her going through slides which show various ways to code using a variety of tools/functions, and often she'll do a live demo to reinforce what was taught in the slides. She encourages us to code alongside her, and for this reason (apart from the fact that lectures are at 8am), I think it's better to watch the recorded lectures as you can pause and try them out yourself before continuing. Prof is also very approachable and quick to reply my emails, even if I ask a barrage of questions.

Tutorials are coding questions for you to try out on your own, and the TA will go through them. Augustine was a good TA, on top of the solutions provided by prof, he would add other methods to get the same result, and he was decent at explaining the code flow and thought process. He also responded to my queries on Telegram for the most part. As for the tutorial questions, I highly recommend trying them out on your own without using chatgpt to debug, because it's good practice for exams.

DataCamp Assignments were 8 x 1.25% online modules/courses? on DataCamp. These are free marks so just make sure you complete them by the deadline. DataCamp honestly isn't very helpful in learning because almost everything is filled in, and they just need you to fill in a few blanks.

The midterm was a 1.5-hour Examplify, open-book but closed internet exam, held in Week 8 at 8am (!!), and this was probably the most difficult part of the course. Most people weren't mentally awake at 8am, and the paper was quite difficult. It is easy to forget a certain function or have syntax errors, and R isn't the easiest language to debug in. It might be tempting to keep working on one part before moving on to the next because each sub-part leads to another, but the grading was very lenient in the sense that even if you miss out on a lot of things, you can still get the bulk of the marks. The key point is to try and complete everything and you should be above the median already. Since you don't have internet access, it is paramount that you do the tutorials as practice without the internet to prepare for the midterm. There were also a lot of small things that tripped people up, such as not being able to read the excel file in R when the excel file is open on your computer, ctrl-c ctrl-v being locked, the question paper on Examplify only taking half of the screen and couldn't be expanded etc. Overall it was a bad experience but luckily the grading was so kind. I got 27.5/30, the median was 21.25/30. Also do note that you have to copy your code from R into Examplify and differences between the R code submitted on Canvas and the Examplify code will be subjected to penalties. However, the Examplify exam does not auto-submit when time is up because there's 15 minutes after the exam to complete all the admin, so make sure your file can knit and all (basically the correct version of your R file) before you copy and paste into Examplify.

The group project was a report where we had to come out with 3 different plots using ggplot to investigate a meaningful question from one of the datasets given. We were allowed to choose our group members regardless of tutorial slot, so be sure to take this mod with friends!! My group did San Francisco Rentals, which a lot of people avoided because there were a lot of observations and variables/columns, but it turned out to be quite easy as we only had to select a few columns to work with. I had other friends who did the Lego dataset which seemed easy at first glance, but turned out to be a nightmare because you had to join a lot of different tables together to get the data you wanted. Unfortunately, I don't know why my group underperformed, I only got 12.5/15, and I assume a lot of people would get 13-15 out of 15 (stats were not released). Anyways just make sure you don't leave the project to the last minute because it can be quite tedious to code and have to write the report.

Finals were a lot easier than midterms. The format was Examplify open-book, closed-internet 2-hour exam, consisting of 25 marks of MCQ/fill-in-the-blank questions and 15 marks of coding. The coding this time around was much simpler, and possibly because we're more experienced by then. The MCQ questions were very easy, and if you were unsure of anything (eg. the definition of tidy data), you could just Ctrl-F. Hence, I recommend collating the lecture slides into one document to more efficiently Ctrl-F. This also helps for the coding questions, as there was 1 data-cleaning and 2 ggplot questions, and if you're unsure of which ggplot function to plot the graph, there's a summary on the lecture slides, alongside an example of the syntax to come up with the plot. Hence, I finished the exam with half an hour to spare and checked through my answers. I think the bell curve for this paper is quite steep because it was relatively easy. There was only one part that tripped some people up, which was removing NAs before or after performing pivot-longer. This will yield different results and affects 2 MCQ questions and the 5 mark coding question. Other than that, the exam is straightforward so be sure not to make careless mistakes.

TLDR:

Practise tutorials without ChatGPT Go through tutorial questions and answers, collate lecture slides into 1 document for easy ctrl-F-ing in the exams In the exams, aim to complete everything rather than perfect certain parts. Move on if you're stuck Don't be careless, read the questions carefully Work with trusted friends for the group project to minimise pain

Grades:

Expected grade: A- Actual grade: A

DSA2102

Module Coordinator & Lecturer: Dr Timothy Wertz

T/A: Tianyun

Lecture Topics:

Week 1: Introduction, Scientific Notation Week 2: Computer Arithmetic, Matrix Operations and Complexity Week 3: Systems of Linear Equations Week 4: Elimination with Pivoting, LU Factorization Week 5: Cholesky Factorization, Linear Least Squares Week 6: Gram-Schmidt Process, Reflections and Rotations Week 7: Singular Value Decomposition Week 8: Eigenvalue Problems Week 9: Power Iteration, QR Iteration Week 10: Singular Value Decomposition Revisited, Interpolation, Practical Interpolation Week 11: Orthogonal Polynomials Week 12: Numerical Integration Week 13: Error Formulas and Composite Quadrature, Other Integration Algorithms, Numerical Differentiation

Deliverables:

Homework - 5% x4 [lowest HW score can be substituted by lecture attendance grade] Midterm - 30% Finals - 50%

Other Comments:

This module is not difficult, but there's just a lot of content to remember. First of all, Dr Wertz is a pretty good lecturer, he is concise in explaining things and he splits his lectures into 3 categories: technical, conceptual, and enrichment. About 40% of the slides are enrichment which is nice to know but not required for the homework or exams. I would've liked to see a labelling of each slide under one of the 3 categories which would have made revising for exams a lot easier. Prof is also very helpful and answers questions at the end of the lecture. However, he also speaks very fast and tends to mumble/have run-off sentences so if your first language is not English, you might have a hard time understanding him.

There were 4 homeworks, each was out of 50. Like most math modules, the homework median is usually close to full marks, except for Homework 2 which had a killer counting operations of banded matrix question. As usual, discuss with friends to check your answers. The homework questions are mostly not tough, they are questions that are covered in lectures. Each homework also has an R coding question, but it's usually quite simple as prof has pseudocode in the slides, you just need to adapt them into actual code. If not, the tutorials also have an R question usually, refer to the tutorials for inspiration. Also, prof took lecture attendance, and while lectures are not compulsory (lectures are recorded too), it can replace your lowest homework grade, whichever is higher. I highly recommend getting the attendance grade as a safety net.

Tutorials were apparently hit-or-miss. My TA, Tianyun, was a pretty good TA and he explained relatively well. Sometimes, I didn't understand him but he was very approachable to me asking him questions after tutorial and he cleared all my doubts. He was also very dedicated, because there was one week that another TA took over him, and damn he kinda sucks because he doesn't explain well and totally skipped the R coding question, which I needed to solve a homework question. After asking the substitute TA about it, he just shrugged and said he doesn't provide R code. However, after I emailed Tianyun about it, he came up with his own R solution to the problem as prof hadn't sent him the solution yet. This sort of proactiveness is appreciated. As for the tutorial questions itself, it's mostly not hard and quite a good reflection of exam questions.

The midterm was a 80-minute pen-and-paper, scientific calculator exam, and we had to bring our own writing paper and scan our answers to upload ala homework-style within 10 minutes. The paper was relatively simple but computationally intensive, so avoid making careless mistakes. We were tested up to Week 6 content, and it was quite right-skewed. I got 41/50, the stats are 0 33 39 43 50. The final exam was a 2-hour pen-and-paper, scientific calculator exam that was out of 50. It was honestly even simpler than the midterm because it was less computationally-intensive, the first question was a bit odd, asking us to consider the number of operations to get the time complexity of some algorithms. The rest of the questions were standard, and mirrored questions from lecture examples, tutorials or the midterm/final practice papers that prof gave. Prof said he sets easier papers by not allowing us to bring cheatsheets in, and I think he kept to his word. The hard part comes in memorising the sheer number of algorithms and ways to solve the questions.

TLDR:

Keep up with tutorials so that you remember the algorithms more easily As usual, check homework answers with friends, attend lectures for safety net/grade boost in case you screw up a HW Try to understand the process of the algorithms to make life easier when studying for exams Don't make careless mistakes in exams

Grades:

Expected grade: B+ Actual grade: A

MA2311

Module Coordinator & Lecturer: Assoc Prof Leung Man Chun

T/A: Shixiao

Lecture Topics:

1. Sequences (Monotone convergence theorem, series, absolute and conditional convergence) 2. Tests of convergence (Power series and interval of convergence, Taylor’s series, differentiation and integration of power series) 3. Vectors in R2 and R3 (Dot product and cross product) 4. Functions of 2 or 3 Variables (Limits and continuity, partial derivatives, directional derivatives, gradients of functions, Taylor’s formula, maximum and minimum, second derivative test) 5. Vector-valued Functions of Several Variables (Chain rule, tangent planes and normal lines to surfaces in R3, Jacobians (change of volume/area element), Lagrange's multiplier method) 6. Multiple Integrals (Iterated integrals, change of order of integration, change of variable formula for multiple integrals)

Deliverables:

Midterms - 20% Finals - 80% (!!)

Other Comments:

Despite my grade for the mod, I can safely say this is the WORST mod I've taken in NUS so far. This prof really sucks, period. Although some math majors were warning ppl about him in the CHS group chat, I thought that since the module content was easy, even if the prof is bad it shouldn't be too big a problem. How wrong I was HAHA (but tbf, I heard Charmaine Sia who's teaching MA2104 isn't that great either and 2104 is tougher so it's not an easy choice). At this point, the module should be renamed to Techniques in Advanced Gambling because I felt like I was throwing a dart blindfolded and seeing what grade I would land. The 80% finals really made it feel like a lottery.

Let's start with the lectures. Someone else mentioned that the lecture slides were bad, and yes it's true. It's just emptiness all around, like very few words and some random diagrams and pictures. I can understand if the prof wants us to take notes, and that's why he left so many blanks. But the problem is that his lectures hardly refer to the slides. 99% of the time he's writing some stuff on paper and showing it to the lecture hall on the visualiser, so no one knows which part he's explaining, especially since he really cannot teach and explain things well to us. I think it's very hard to learn content from his lectures, but I do think there is some value in watching them which I will explain later. I managed to get my hands on the previous prof's lecture slides which helped me to keep up with the tutorials but I didn't watch the lectures from midterms until reading week, as a result, I didn't exactly master the later topics until reading week.

As for the tutorials, Shixiao was a pretty good TA because he would explain things in a way that made sense. He was also helpful despite a lot of dumb questions I asked at the end of each tutorial lol. He was probably the saving grace of this mod. However, the tutorial questions were directly ripped from last AY's MA2311 (this prof was the TA for the mod then) and the prof is so lazy that he didn't even remove the previous prof's name from the tutorial solution slides!! So this means no one really knows what kind of questions the prof will set since there's no reference or anything.

Midterms was a 1-hour pen-and-paper exam held in the lecture hall on Week 8, and it was open-book. Apparently, it was closed-internet but there was nothing to block internet access. Nonetheless, you have access to all your notes and I also downloaded Geogebra offline to check limits lol. We were tested until radius of convergence. 2 questions were directly from the tutorial but just slightly altered, the last question was slightly unorthodox but still doable. I got 19/20, and I think a lot of people did too. We only got back the midterms on the very last lecture in Week 13 so if you realised you screwed up there's honestly not much time to catch up. The average according to the prof was around 18/20.

Finals was your typical 2-hour, pen-and-paper, scientific calculator and 1 A4 double-sided cheatsheet math final exam. (Note: There was 1 part of question 1 that was voided and the paper was re-based to 95 instead of 100.) The fact that finals was 80% was extremely scary, and it was a sink-or-swim situation. I spent the bulk of reading week looking through the textbook and trying out questions from there (answers can be found online if you're resourceful enough), and alongside going through the prev AY's prof notes in more detail I got a better idea of the content. To be fair, most of the content was not difficult except for the part on volume multiple integration. Nonetheless, I still poured a lot of effort and time into this module because I couldn't risk the 80%. After understanding everything, I watched the prof's lectures to see if there was anything I missed out on and also to get some hints. He was emphasising one particular question at the end of the last week 13 lecture which I added wholesale into my cheatsheet, and lo and behold, it came out in the last question of the finals. As for the finals paper itself, I could do most of the questions, it was a relatively even spread across all the topics in both the first and second half but I wasn't sure if I got them correct because even the first question, which was a giveaway L-hopital limit question, I got wrong LOL. I think there were a few questions that felt a bit strange and unfamiliar, but if you know your concepts well it should not be an issue. Overall, some people felt it was easy and some felt it was difficult, which I attribute to whether you know the content and watched his lectures or not. Still though, 80% is crazyyyyyy

TLDR:

Listen to other ppl's advice, don't take this mod under this AY's prof unless you like gambling if you're taking it under him, I wish you all the very best

Grades:

Expected grade: idek Actual grade: A+

#nus #cs2040 #dsa2101 #dsa2102 #ma2311

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rookthorne · 1 year

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I posted 4,242 times in 2022

That's 4,221 more posts than 2021!

285 posts created (7%)

3,957 posts reblogged (93%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@thenhewaswrongaboutme

@foreverindreamlandd

@writing-for-marvel

@buckyismybicycle

@justarandomgirly

I tagged 2,665 of my posts in 2022

Only 37% of my posts had no tags

#i think you’re queue - 448 posts

#favourites - 267 posts

#rookthorne replies - 212 posts

#lana's loves - 151 posts

#rookthorne's reactions - 138 posts

#rookthorne responds - 132 posts

#lana’s loves - 131 posts

#rookthorne’s reactions - 123 posts

#favourites favourites favourites - 121 posts

#i think you're queue - 109 posts

Longest Tag: 127 characters

#i’m gonna stick with my thoughts that nebula came across this because bucky gave it to her *willingly* because he got a new one

My Top Posts in 2022:

Happy birthday my love ♥️♥️ could I please request a drabble with my beloved Stevie and the prompt: “let me take care of you today. don’t do anything in return, just let me.”

hello my sweetheart, thank you! I hope I did this justice, but it ain’t a drabble, my bad. prompt by @promptplanetblr - thanks guys! 💗

Come join my birthday celebration!

As You Wish | Steve Rogers

Pairing; Steve Rogers x F!Reader Word Count; 1.5k Warnings; hurt/comfort, tooth rotting fluff, swearing, Steve is adorable

Beta’d by; @thenhewaswrongaboutme

A bad start to the day only creates turmoil, but he’s there to save the day - and he always will be.

See the full post

282 notes - Posted August 8, 2022

"you're an idiot." (it stands for 'i love you')

Withhhhh either street racer, biker, or modern au Bucky 👀

I went with Biker!Bucky, I had so much fun with this one oh my gosh prompt from @promptplanetblr - thanks guys 💗

Come join my birthday celebration!

Yours, Mine | Bucky Barnes

Pairing; Bucky Barnes x F!Reader Word Count; 1.6k Warnings; swearing, pet names, fluff, tiny tiny bit of angst, clubhouse shenanigans A/N; I did not mean to bring the tiny bit of angst into this one. oops. I made up for it with poor Peter and Steve being the duo that they are. This is set after A Leap of Faith, and The Keys to the Kingdom.

An unexpected turn in the club’s luck leaves you questioning whether or not you belonged. It’s safe to say that a certain biker was not going to let those thoughts destroy what you both had created.

Brotherhood & Bullets Masterlist

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293 notes - Posted August 20, 2022

A Leap of Faith | Bucky Barnes

Pairing; Bucky Barnes x Reader Word count; 1.9k Warnings; mention of a motorcycle club, kids and bikes, pet names, and just a heap of FLUFF. A/N; my first ever one shot - came up with it after seeing this on tiktok, and I loved writing it. I have never written one before, only ever done series, so I hope you enjoy. I also made an aesthetic video too! 🥰 Likes, replies, and reblogs are welcomed and cherished. 💗 Beta'd by my beautiful @thenhewaswrongaboutme. Thank you for putting up with my antics whilst writing this, you're a saint. Appreciate you so much. 😘

You hadn't been convinced by the vicious rumours circling through the town of the local motorcycle club. Surely the club wasn't as ominous as the townsfolk thought, right?

Brotherhood & Bullets Masterlist

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341 notes - Posted May 25, 2022

peek a boo 👀

350 notes - Posted September 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Best Kept Secret | ʙᴜᴄᴋʏ ʙᴀʀɴᴇꜱ

Pairings; Modern!Bucky Barnes x F!Reader Word Count; 5.8k Warnings; swearing, pet names, heavily implied smut, tooth rotting fluff, the two of you are MENACES to one another A/N; I PROMISED YOU GUYS FLUFF - HERE. IS. THE. FLUFF! This one was inspired by this tiktok, and I had a ball writing it.

There were very few things that brought you as much joy as seeing Bucky smile, but this - this moment would forever be etched as one of your fondest memories, let alone his.

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385 notes - Posted November 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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excludedmiddle · 2 years

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Codechef September Lunchtime (Div 2)

Link

Really hard, interesting contest. The main thing I struggled with was that you're actually supposed to go for partial solutions on here - there are subtasks with easier bounds that get you partial credit.

Personally, I hate not fully solving a problem, so I didn't really bother, but I think I could've earned a ton more points had I gone into it with the mindset that I need to solve subproblems.

As it was I placed around rank 100/over a thousand, which was good enough to take me close to the top of Div 2 and earn me a fourth star.

STICKBREAK - Very easy, just output 0 or 1 based on mod.

PERMCREATE - I had trouble with this one! Not really, but like, it took some thinking to come up with an algorithm that would consistently work. Objectively an easy problem though, I think I was still waking up.

INCADD - This is the last problem I solved - only 300something Div 2 participants managed to solve this in 3 hours, which is kind of shocking to me. It's not exactly trivial, but you can just use two binary heaps/priority queues and crunch through the whole thing in O((N+Q)log(N+Q)) time.

The remaining 4 problems were all crazy hard, with single-digit solves in Div 2. I didn't get any of them, but if I can start consistently getting at least one of those problems per contest, it should be very easy to move up to Div 1.

RMVNUMBERS - This is the one I spent all my time on, and the only one that had a clean solution. It looks like "just doing it" is exponential, but the cute trick you can do is bounding your search so that you're really only doing O(mn) work, and you can bound m by min(30, 2 * log n). I wrote my own solution as practice.

ADJACNTPAIRS - I had the right idea with this one but no real idea how to operationalize any of it. Tons of interesting ideas that go into solving this one, I think I'm gonna write it all later today.

UNFRIENDLY - This one is bonkers hard and I think it might be far enough above my level that it's not even worth trying to code it. I would say I more or less "get" the solution, but I'm not confident I could code a working version without several hours of time.

Really enjoyed this one, despite the frustration. I think I'm basically a bottom of Div 1 level Codechef coder, which is kind of a frustrating place to be given that contests rated for Div 1 are much rarer. Excited to prove it this Wednesday!

#coding competition

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fallcrestrpg · 2 years

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ıllıllı 𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 12/17: 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩 3.1 - Benson, Holstein - ıllıllı

Transcript of Event below Cut:

LUKE

Luke and the girls had all settled on enjoying a nice night in after the chaos of week before and finally getting the cabin back to its more usual number of habitants. As it stood, she, Skylar, and Tomi had taken up shop in the living room catching up on the Liverpool match, while Erin opted to keep Keagan, Lyra, and Nix company as they tried to figure out dinner.

As Luke went into the kitchen for more drinks at the top of the second half, what she saw made her assume they’d be ordering in again. She could not have been gone more than two minutes, but the sight she returned to made her question if she hadn’t managed to travel _back_ in time instead. On the floor where Tomi had been sat with MJ, an infant Tomi now sat basically _on_ MJ. As she turned to the couch she’d left Skylar on, her hands immediately let the drinks fall to the floor as she rushed over in time to dove the ground and catch a familiar redheaded baby as she tumbled over the edge of the seat. As she lay in a heap against the couch, Sky let out a giggle and all Luke could manage was to laugh back. “Think that’s funny do you? We’ll see how funny your mom finds it,” and as if on queue she glanced up to see said mother rushing in from the kitchen. “Look what I caught!”

KEAGAN

At the crash, Keagan immediately rushed into the living room to see what was up and stopping herself at the laughter before her hand instinctively flew to where her holster would have been. But when she processed what she was actually seeing, she could barely believe her eyes. "...What happened?" Because as cute as the babies were, something definitely happened and Keagan's brain just went on high alert because Skylar and Tomi were the only ones affected.

Moving to pick up Tomi off of MJ, it made her relax ever so slightly to see that neither kid seemed harmed in any way. "We should.. make some calls." She walked over to Luke and Skylar and immediately smiled when she saw the kid reaching out towards Tomi. "Looks like they still recognize each other.."

LUKE

Using Sky's very adamant attempts to get over to Tomi, Luke managed to gently set her down on the floor where she was free to crawl over while she herself worked to get out of awkward heap she'd landed in. Once she managed to sit properly upright, she brought a hand to rub at the spot she'd smacked on the couch frame, and used her free hand to grab her phone. "Gonna shoot out a text to group chat. We'll know soon enough who got babified and who's still good."

Feeling a knot begin to form just off to the side of where her stitches had been, she dropped her hand to avoid attention and then shot back up as she said, "Alright, looks like the kiddos don't quite have their feet under them yet, which means they're still on bottle-feeding. Also, those Liverpool jerseys are doing great to cover up their modesty, but they'll need diapers and proper clothing. I'll hit up the shop to get the essentials. If Brax gets in touch, let him know Tomi's fine."

KEAGAN

It was such a blur from when Luke grabbed her hand to when she orbed away as soon as she mentioned about getting everything for the babies. Keagan quickly whipped out her phone in time to see that other kids were also hit by the de-aging magic. "Come on girls.." She slipped the phone away before scooping both girls into her arms and walked back into the kitchen. "...We've.. got a situation." She balanced Skylar on her hip while she settled Tomi onto the kitchen counter - keeping her arm around the baby in case the youngest Rendall decided to be adventurous.

"Luke's off to grab us some stuff for them - decided to orb there." It was clear the other was getting very comfortable with her Paladin powers. Keagan would have thought taking the car would be better since who knows how much Luke was going to bring home. "Turns out most of the kids are now.. like this." She spoke before naturally giving her daughter a kiss to the temple.

RIKKE

The paladin had been in the middle of the locker room, getting ready to swap out her jumpsuit for her civis when she felt it. It was a faint twinge of sorts, as if something had _shifted_, but it wasn't until a few minutes later when she finally caved and focused on the sensation that she realized something was definitely off. Making quick work of tying the sleeves of her jumpsuit around her waist in lieu of a full change-out, she found a safe corner from which to orb over to the cabin.

It didn't take long after materializing in the family kitchen to see what the problem was. "Oh dear," she whispered. Bringing two fingers to her right temple, her eyes shined a brighter blue for a moment before she focused on the Keagan and said, "Jack reports it happened to her youngest charge as well. Best theory we can figure is that it's probably some of the kickback magic the breaking of a Nexus seal can cause, but that would also imply that the wards on the Nexus failed at some point..."

Rikke trailed off as her eyes focused on the youngest of her own clan. It had taken her a little bit to play catch up to all the discussion of genetics and such, but as the very same gaze of her own son stared back at her through her really-great granddaughter, she couldn't help but whisper, "The Holstein is remarkably strong in that one."

LYRA

"Oh my god!!!!!! Is that who I-OOoOoh!" Lyra giddly went from the fridge to the babies in record time. "Hi Nicheee..." Her voice, for once, was soft though filled with much excitement. Lyra already took out her phone and started snapping pics of them. "You little nuggets are so cute! Were you always this cute?" She picked up Tomi and started faux-dancing with her by swaying and swirling her around. "Keg, they're so small I can't even."

Then she stopped when a thought came to mind. Lyra went over to the baby who seemed to be reaching out towards the Paladin and easily distracted her by hovering the kid's girlfriend nearby. Of course it succeeded as Skylar switched her attention and started reaching out towards Tomi. Lyra on the other hand, just leaned in.... then leaned out with the baby, causing Tomi to be *just* out of reach from Skylar. "You want her girl? Oh yes you doooo Ohhhh OH!!! ohhhh."

RIKKE

It was beginning to become a far less startling thing to go from the volume of an average conversation, to Lyra volumes in the blink of an eye. Something to be said about exposure therapy, she was sure. Nonetheless, it did pull Rikke back out from her own head and back to the present. Pulling out her own phone, she checked the new messages in the group chat and relayed them to the group as they all tried not to encourage Lyra too much...though she hardly seemed to need it.

When she started mocking Skylar with Tomi, Rikke was immediately awash with the girl's emotions -which at least let her know that this was still a thing for them- and held out a hand to pause the short woman. "I would not continue to do that if I were you. Otherwise you are going to have not one, but _two_ **very** upset babies on your hands and presumably no real way to calm them back down just yet."

KEAGAN

There was already a whine coming from Sky when Lyra decided it was a bright idea to tease them. "Lyra." She sighed as she started soothing the baby the best she could to prevent the actual crying "Don't tease the babies, I doubt you really want to make them cry - like Rikke said, there's no real way to calm them." If Skylar was easily upset being separated as a young adult, god forbid someone try to do the same when they're just babies.

Looking over to Rikke who had been staring at Sky, Keagan gave a smile. "Would you like to hold her?" It did not surprise her at all that Skylar seemed to have another adult doting on her - that seemed to be a common effect amongst people. The only people unaffected were assholes, which there were many examples of that.

RIKKE

Rikke breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Erin step in and take Tomi from Lyra, and effectively flip the mood of the babies almost immediately. The pure joy that radiated from her great-granddaughter just at the sight of her girls together, in spite of the very odd circumstances, was exceedingly endearing. It also didn't hurt that she could essentially feel the joy as if it were her very own.

It was Keagan's voice that cut through and made her realize she'd been staring at the child. "Who? Me?" she asked, suddenly feeling exceedingly apprehensive. As much as she wanted to cave in and say yes, she also didn't want to make things worse for the group. "I- I couldn't. I mean, it's been literal ages since I've held a child -outside of emergency situations- and you know, I'm still technically a stranger to her I wouldn't- I wouldn't want to upset her."

KEAGAN

She nodded when Rikke asked if she actually meant her. "You'll be fine, and besides, look." She looked down at the baby who had switched gears and was now staring towards the Paladin with a smile, hands reaching out towards her. "I don't think you're going to upset her if she's calling for you. You're her grandmother, and she obviously knows that." She smiled while she carried her baby over to the other.

"Here." She carefully held Sky against Rikke, silently telling her to take her already "See, she's not upset at all." If anything, the baby had already sort of turned towards the taller woman, preparing herself for another cuddle session.

RIKKE

It was admittedly fining it harder to deny the offer with every passing moment. The sight of the child reaching out to her was the biggest thing chipping away at her resolve. The adamancy and ease with which she was denoted as the baby’s relative at all was oddly what put her most at ease. That bit of recognition that she did, in fact, have a right to hold Skylar.

So, as Keagan walked over and began handing her the baby, all Rikke could do was reach out her hands and accept the already cuddly bundle. From such a proximity it was exceedingly hard _not_ to be reminded of the last time she held her own son…but even as she felt the tears silently run down her face, the memory was brought with a smile. “I had to leave your great-grandfather when he just a bit younger than you are now,” she said lowly, “But I know I would do it again in a heartbeat to get the opportunity to hold you now.”

KEAGAN

She watched as Rikke got comfortable with Skylar in her arms, feeling rather smug since the kid already captured another heart without doing anything except look cute. Sky was truly loved by everyone and Keagan could not ask for anything better.

Leaving her with the Paladin, she walked over to Erin and Tomi. "So.. How does it feel to see your girlfriends as babies?" Feeling her phone vibrate, she took a look at her messages and gave a rather wry smile at it. "Brax figured Tomi's a baby too now." She sighed. "If Sky cries, we can pin it on him then."

ERIN

Erin glanced up and grinned at Keagan before replying, "I don't know, how did feel speaking those words in that specific order to ask your currently infant daughter's still very much grown girlfriend that question?" Was it a verbose way to get her point across? Yes. Did she regret it? No. All of this was odd -to say the least- and being made to focus on that aspect -even if unintentionally- was bordering on cruel.

Sighing, she relented and said, "It's weird, but they _are_ just so incredibly cute. I can't bring myself to be fully cross about the situation." At the mention of Braxton and the implication that he may be taking Tomi away, Erin couldn't help but give a pout that would've given grown Skylar a run for her money. Bringing Tomi up so she could press their cheeks together she whined, "Sky won't be the only one crying."

KEAGAN

She snorted at the reply she got from her daughter's girlfriend. This proved that there was some sort of age limit since there were still a few kids from the youngest generation of scoobs who weren't affected by the Nexus. "At least we don't think this is permanent." It was generally good news, but looking at them now, Keagan didn't mind if she got to spend more time with her daughter at this age.

"Again, we'll just pin it on him." She chuckled softly at the sight. "Still, it wouldn't be fair of us to keep the manchild away from his daughter." She looked over her should to see her daughter still gabbling with her grandmother as if they were in a very serious conversation. "That kid's already got Rikke wrapped around her finger."

ERIN

The witch made a face and said, "God I hope you're right." She bounced Tomi a bit as she mulled a thought over in her head, before finally working up the courage to say it out loud. "I hope you don't think it too forward or me to just kind of like bring this up, but if I'm honest, I already feel a bit self-conscious about the _current_ age gap between myself and the girls. I _know_ it's nothing major and that the important part is how our maturity levels are still relevant to each others, and of course there's no crazy disparate power dynamic _but_...every once in a while a comment on a post or video will make me wonder if I'm in the wrong....Of course, I would expect that if that were the case the first ones to say something would the parents of said other girls but...anyway, I just think that if they happen to remain literal babies for far too long, I may just develop a genuine complex....sorry..."

Now feeling more than properly embarrassed at having just hijacked Keagan and word vommitted all over her like she would her own moms, Erin barely even caught the conversation about Brax. She did, however, turn to face and watch as Sky seemed to be doing her hardest to hold a conversation with Rikke, in-between seemingly being overcome with the need to ferociously nuzzle her little self into the woman's chest for cuddles. "Well, she has one mother's commanding presence, and the other's almost effortless charm. Quite the combination."

KEAGAN

When the two became babies, and Erin didn't, Keagan already expected a topic about the very apparent age gap at the moment to come up, but not quite like this. She gave Erin her full attention as the speed the younger woman was going needed all the concentration. "Oh come here." She wrapped her arm around the other in a side hug of sorts without getting Tomi caught up in between them. "I understand what that must feel like." Although it wasn't really much of a secret, it still felt odd to talk about herself. "I was very much in the same position when it came to Luke." Granted, Luke was *underage*. At least Sky and Tomi were both legally adults.

"And from the way things had been going, age gaps.. seem to be a running theme in this family." She couldn't help but ruffle the witch's hair a bit before lifting up Tomi into her arms. "4 years isn't big of a gap especially if you think about it later as all of you grow even older." She paused, "You do know, Luke and I are six years apart, right?"

ERIN

Erin was more than happy to let herself be wrapped up in a hug. Especially considering it was coming from the least 'huggy' of the women in this house. She felt honored, but also mostly just happy to have a moment like this when it had been so long since she'd had one. "Really?" she asked in disbelief...or, well, what she _hoped_ would come across as disbelief. Skylar had after all run immediately to her and Tomi to share all the details of how her mothers had basically been mutually pinning for each other since basically ever. Not to mention that they had very obviously at liked each other a _lot_ once, because Skylar herself was a thing...

The witch could only laugh at having her hair ruffled by someone shorter than her, realizing things like these were going to be norm as a part of the family. Tomi also gladly went to her aunt, and just in time, because when Keagan actually told her the age gap between herself and Luke her jaw dropped so fast, she may have also dropped the baby. "I wouldn't have guessed, to be honest. I mean, I figured maybe two. Three, at most, because obviously you're Lyra's older sister and they're the same age, but you guys just vibe so well...If I didn't know Lyra was your _younger_ sister, I'd have guessed you and Luke were the same age to be honest."

KEAGAN

Her brows rose in amusement when she saw just how surprised Erin was to learn about the age gap. "I think that's just.. Lucas for the most part. She has always been a lot more mature for her age - I think at some point, my dad was a bit weirded out by how mature she was." She shrugged, "But it worked out I guess." She released the witch to catch a small drool coming from Tomi. "So yea, we've got a larger age gap than you and the girls. And I wouldn't worry too much about those comments you see. They don't know you guys after all. Besides, if both Luke and I had something against it, we would have said so a long time ago." She pointed out. If not Luke, Keagan would as she was apparently *very* straightforward but Erin seemed like a good kid.

"Though I don't know if Sky would listen even if we did. She got her stubbornness from me. And from what I've been told, that girl was heads over heals for you since day 1, it'd be hard to convince her out of anything." Would they though? Neither Luke nor Keagan wanted to see Sky upset.. ever, which definitely had a place as to why their daughter was so spoiled. "Tomi, honey.." She laughed, "You keep drooling, we should really get a bib on you as soon as Luke comes back."

LUKE

As soon as she orbed into the trees that bordered the parking lot of the store, Luke already knew it had been a mistake to make the trip on her own. She only proceeded to prove herself right as she entered and immediately deviated from the list of 'essentials' she'd shared in the group chat herself...like literally right before the glass doors had slid open in front of her. What really should've taken her a hand basket and maybe ten minutes -fifteen tops, given it was just an emergency, 'for the time being', kind of run- had her basically traversing the store from one end to the other...and then back again because the self-checkout machines were all at the beginning end and she really didn't want to risk any questions.

So, she wasn't entirely surprised to orb back to her living room and find that the party of folks had moved on over to the kitchen from the sounds of things. Nor was she surprised to sense that Rikke was now among the waiting ladies. "I'm sorry I took longer than expected. I really did go in with every intention of buying only the essentials for tonight but," she called out as she walked her purchases into the kitchen...or rather _rolled_ them, "I neglected to take Keagan with me and it ended up not quite as planned...sorry babe, Target is my weakness and you're like ninety percent of my impulse control in that place."

KEAGAN

The wolf had literally just finished telling her future daughter-in-law that Lucas was mature for her age, and then said Paladin orbed in with a *train* of shopping carts behind her. She was about to say something but instead, closed her mouth and shook her head. The sudden pet name did not slip *anyone's* notice - she could feel her sister's stare on her. "Did you get bibs? We definitely need one over here." She decided to switch topics and walked over with the baby. "...I think Sky might need one too - I guess sleep took over her need to talk." She laughed when she saw her daughter passed out in her grandmother's arms. Cuddles obviously won.

"Let's get the girls dressed.." She looked at the carts, not even daring to guess what Luke had bought. "...And bring an outfit for them - any outfit you might have gotten." She grabbed the one thing that was noticeable from the pile and that she had a hand for - the diapers. "Lyra, can you .. sort everything out in the meantime?" She asked as she started heading upstairs.

LUKE

“Yes,” she replied, immediately going directly to the cart and the specific bag they were in. As she opened the two-pack and handed one to Keagan and walked one over to Rikke, she clarified, “For the record, I _did_ manage to get all of the essentials on the list…I just also got some additional stuff.” As she turned back to Rikke, she was momentarily caught up in the sight of seeing Skylar sleeping so serenely in her grandmother’s arms. It was the past she’d never known holding the future she hadn’t known she had…

Keagan’s commanding voice as she provided directives was enough to refocus her attention. She walked directly over to another one of the carts and pulled out two little onesies, before walking to _another_ cart and managing to pick up two boxes. She followed after the older Paladin who had understood to head upstairs and said, “I’ve got some basic carriers here for them for now. I think I can manage to put together Sky’s crib in time to get her swapped over after her 3am feeding.”

KEAGAN

"I have a feeling that the amount of additional stuff is three times of the essentials." She laughed as she disappeared into the bedroom and setting aside the diapers. Carefully laying the kid down on the bed, she couldn't help but smile at the giggle coming from their youngest wolf. "Ohh.. At least someone's excited. My daughter on the other hand.. is pooped out." She looked over her shoulder to spot the baby. "Do you see her? Yeah.. that's your girlfriend."

With that, Keagan took the necessary stuff from Luke and worked on gently getting Tomi into her diaper - if she would cooperate a bit. It did take a bit of a struggle, maybe she was just rusty but eventually, the task was done. Well, one out of two.

"What outfits did you get for them?"

LUKE

After setting down the carriers, her brow furrowed as she mentally itemized her purchases and categorized them based on her own list of ‘essentials’ and the outliers. Speaking after a few seconds she said, “I’d say it’s more of a five-to-one ratio between essential items and funsies ones.”

It was definitely lost on her that Keagan had probably just been teasing her, but how could Luke be blamed when she was so taken with the sight of the older woman practically beaming with joy right now. She was taking to a simple diaper change with such eagerness, and it was her _daughter-in-law_. She could only imagine how the woman would be once she had more one-on-one time with their own daughter…well, with the kid being conscious.

The question snapped her out of her daze as she held up a onesie in each hand. “I figured go light and simple for sleep. So, [left or right](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRaofxGe89o_S5OEqVFp2ebiSOwBj3Noq1D6Q&usqp=CAU)?”

KEAGAN

Once she was done, she showered Tomi with small pecks. Her heart just melting at the sight of Tomi giggling and she could not wait to spend time with baby Sky. She wasn't cruel enough to just take the kid away from Rikke after personally handing her over.

Looking up at the choice, her brows rose at what the shirts said. "Cute, you've got them couples outfit." She laughed, "Should we give the 'Part I Cri' to Tomi and the other for Sky?" She reached a hand out, motioning Luke to hand her one of the jammies before her own daughter caught her eye, "Sky... really passed out in your arms there." That kid was in such a deep sleep that Keagan doubt there was anything that could wake her right now.

LUKE

The Paladin could feel the absolute adoration being felt for her daughter from both Keagan’s _and_ Rikke, and it was almost overwhelming. Luckily it was tempered a bit by the conflicting emotions both women held. Both wanted to spend more time with the little bit but neither wanted to keep the other from her either.

After Keagan had Tomi all set, Rikke broke the stalemate by offering up Sky to Keagan, and then taking Tomi herself and heading back down. “At least we know Rikes can take a hint better than I could, apparently,” she joked.

Walking closer to the pair, she gingerly ran a hand over the baby’s head. “I can’t believe I even _remotely_ had any hand in this wonderful little girl coming to be.”

KEAGAN

Once Sky was back in her arms, Keagan's smile widened even further. Although the kid was still asleep, both mothers couldn't keep their eyes away from her. "She looks just like you, so there's no denying that." She joked as she eventually brought her eyes away from Sky and up towards Luke. "And from what Rikke said, the Holstein genes are *very* strong."

She leaned in and risked a gentle kiss on Sky's forehead. "God, she's so beautiful. I can't believe we get to see this again.. to hold her like this again." She mumbled, "...We should get her changed.. but I don't want to wake her up." She almost whined.

LUKE

Lucas took in the sight before her, and knowing that she actually got say ‘my girls’ and have it be true in every sense of the term…it was a lot, but in the best way possible. She gave a small chuckle at Keagan’s response before stating, “In my defense, I have no idea _what_ I looked like before the age of like three. There aren’t any baby pictures of me at this age. _And_ even after she got older, I went years without having a reason to even fathom it was a possibility…” Luke leaned down to place a gentle kiss to Keagan’s forehead. “I get to say she’s _our_ baby now…I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank you enough for such a gift.”

As Keagan did her best not to wake Sky, Luke just playfully rolled her eyes at the last comment and snarled, “Well, you know, I can’t exactly control that -that I know of- but if you happen to decide you’d like to test _your_ genetic chances again, just let me know.” She winked, before glancing at the baby again.

“I think I have an idea…” she said, before reaching for a blanket to spread across her chest. As gently as possible she placed one hand on Skylar’s head, while her other arm came up to her chest. Closing her eyes, she concentrated and in a fraction of a second, she’d managed to orb Skylar into her waiting arms, quickly wrapping the blanket around the now naked baby. Glancing at Keagan as the woman now held an empty jersey she said, “Okay, so step one is done. And she seems none the wiser.”

KEAGAN

"The red hair came from *somewhere*." She chuckled softly, leaning into the kiss slightly before she looked up again with a smile, "She's a gift for the both of us." She couldn't stop herself from giving the baby another kiss on the cheeks. Keagan was *obsessed* with their baby because how could she not? Skylar was such a beautiful child ever since she was wee little.

"Oh? You're already thinking of having another one?" She peeked up with a smirk, "I'd like to focus on the current baby for now." She already missed out so much the first time, she wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

Keagan didn't even had the time to say anything before her baby was orbed out of her arms and into the Paladins. Tossing the jersey off to the side, she picked up another diaper. "So.. I'm not doubting your skills, but could you orb her into the diaper and outfit? Come on, lay her down." She motioned back to the bed.

LUKE

“Well we _eventually_ solved that mystery,” she whispered back. “There’s just something about getting to do this again, only this time I won’t constantly feel like I’m fighting an uphill battle over every little aspect of her care because I’m ‘not the parent’, ya know? I get to enjoy my time with her and not feel like some imposter, stealing precious moments from someone else. I��ll get to be with _you_ as we watch her take her first wobbly steps and not feel guilty or like I’m just a place holder.” It was truly a blessing in disguise.

Luke raised her hands in defense and said, “Hey, I said it was up to you. But for the record, these beautiful little nuggets do tend to take a while to bale anyways.”

As she held the sleeping baby she glanced down and said, “I could probably just carefully lay her down on the diaper, and then orb her into the onesie laid out beside her, so for her there’s hardly a difference.”

KEAGAN

It was endearing to see Luke so excited and eager to spend however long this baby phenomenon was going to take. "I look forward to experiencing all those moments first hand this time." She looked down and then and smiled, "How I possibly spend all those years away from you, I have no idea..." She mumbled softly as she stopped herself from laying on the bed next to the kid. It was *very* tempting to spend every moment with Skylar right now.

"Even if we were to consider another one, we'd have to speak with Sky first. I don't think springing a baby onto her would be the best idea."

"I feel like there's some line we shouldn't cross when it comes to orbing but I'm not sure what it is yet." She chuckled, "Are you sure you can orb her.. right into the onesie? That sounds like it takes immense precision."

LUKE

"Oooh, my vlogging equipment is _sooo_ much better than the dumb camera on my old phone. I can take so many more pictures of you guys just being all Calvetti and aggro over lack of munchies all the time. Ooh, ooh, I can set up a mommy-and-me photoshoot for you guys in matching outfits. Or, or, I can grab like a fresh baby book for you to detail the little moments this time around or...uh...I could- I could stop talking, and just let _you_ tell me what it is you'd like me to do. Yeah, that one's fair."

Already feeling embarrassed by her rambling, and the idea that maybe Keagan thought Luke was trying to take anything away from the woman -which she would absolutely _never_- the subject of another baby suddenly seemed like maybe she'd overstepped on that front as well. "Oh, you know me, I often disconnect my mouth from my brain and stuff just comes out. Focusing on the present is honestly the best course of action." If it sounded like she was backtracking, it was only because she felt that's what Keagan wanted to hear. Truth be told, if asked under any other circumstances, the same woman who once claimed to never want a child in her life, would gladly admit to being okay with the possibility of another child...or three...or nine...

The embarrassment, the slight shame, and her own overthinking made it to where as light as Keagan's words were likely meant, they managed to pierce and completely take the wind out of her confidence sails. Looking somewhere between disappointed and sheepish, Luke just nodded and said, "Yeah, I think you're right. Now's probably not the time to be testing those kind of things out. Besides, Little Bit's never been much of a light sleeper." She then proceeded to ease the sleeping baby into the onesie. "You're more than welcome to go ahead and snuggle up with her. I can go back down and handle whatever's going on downstairs."

KEAGAN

Keagan only watched endearingly as the Paladin rambled on about the different options they could do for mementos. When Luke began to look rather sheepish, the mother wolf reached out and gently held onto the other by their upper arm. "Luke, it's okay. We could even do all of them if you want - also, I think it'd make more sense if you were in the pictures as well. You're her mother too so we are *all* going to be in matching outfits.

A brow rose when it sounded like the woman was backtracking on everything she said. "Hey, I didn't say there wasn't a possibility...it's certainly .. something to think about at some point." Her thumb ran circles as she talked - hoping that it'd ease at least some of the.. anxiousness the other was showing. "Do you want more kids?" She smiled, "A brother or a sister for Sky?"

Leaning in, she gave a gentle kiss to Luke's lips. "Since she's already been orbed once, I don't see the harm of trying to get her into her diaper and onesie. So stay with us?" Keagan slung her around around the taller woman's neck so that her thumb was now stroking against the back of the other's neck. "I'm sure everything is handled downstairs, we've got Rikke and Nix there at the very least." She joked since they all knew that Lyra was *not* the responsible one.

LUKE

She knew the touch was meant to be reassuring, but her instinct was tense at the sensation before easing into the hold. Were it anyone else, Luke wouldn't have given it a second thought, but if anyone in this house would notice the shift, it'd be Keagan... "Sorry, I just- Some pretty major things have happened in the last week and I guess it all didn't really _hit_ me until now. Which, I mean, timing right?" she chuckled. It was a bid to lighten the mood, but it came out a bit more uneasy sounding than she'd have liked. "Anyway, you're right. We're all going on this roller-coaster ride _together_," Luke said, a genuine smile softening the grip of anxiety on her.

The small circles were like a switch. Her brain went from trying to process hundreds of thousands of things at once, to just focusing on the here and now. Luke dropped her head to rest gently on Keagan's as she contemplated the question. It was means to draw more comfort, but also to hide what she was sure was a stupid look on her face at the mere idea of a possibility for them to grow their family. "I just," she began, "I see you with JJ and Lyra and I can't help but think that I'd love nothing more than for Skylar to get the same. I know she has her friends, but I don't know....maybe it's really just me projecting and wishing _I'd_ had more siblings...or better ones anyway..."

She was in the process of shaking her head when she felt a warmth on her lips, that was not only becoming all-too familiar but, certainly her favorite, very, very quickly. Nodding, Luke silently agreed to stay, a small chuckle bubbling up at Keagan specifically _not_ naming Lyra. With the baby now dressed, and still very much asleep, the Paladin grinned and said, "She clearly takes after her mom in the sleep department." She'd let Keagan choose which 'mom' that'd be.

KEAGAN

Keagan did notice the sudden tension when she first reached out however, she kept her smile and strokes steady. "And you can take all the time to process them. One thought at a time." If anything, there was always something major happening in Fallcrest. The way she had to process things at her own pace too when it was her first *day* at work. "And Luke, all the ideas you may have in store... We are very likely to do every one of them. I don't know what they could be, but I'm sure we'll get to them." Keagan chuckled.

"....Do you think you can handle a mini-Lyra?" She joked before giving a small nod. "Maybe giving Sky a sibling or two wouldn't be a bad idea. I would like to hear what Sky thinks about that. The kid can't answer us right now though." She looked over to the bundle between them.

Her brow rose at the comparison. "You call her "mini-me for a reason." She snorted. Those cheeks of their daughters were so rosy, Keagan could not help herself from gently pinching them. Still, the baby did not wake. "At least we don't have to be too careful about being quiet."

LUKE

Luke nodded along as Keagan spoke. "One thought at a time is just about all my battered brain can process without overheating and just turning off completely right now," she mumbled, before blue eyes met hazel and widened as she added, "...that was supposed to an inside thought...my bad." Honestly, the last thing they needed right now is to have to be reminded of that reason as to why the last week had led to some major adjustments. Taking the opportunity for a quick change in focus, she chuckled mischievously at Keagan's assurance they would do all her ideas. "Famous last words, Cal."

Brows furrowed in confusion as she replied, "I live with a mini-Lyra. Are you asking if I can handle a micro-Lyra?" She was ninety-nine percent sure the question was a joke, but there was still that one percent chance it was serious and a means for Keagan to begin the process of easing her off idea of younger siblings for the twins...Luke didn't even realize she'd been holding her breath until she was forced to take one so she could actually reply to Keagan's wish to give the girls the final vote. "For a second I really thought I was going to have to sow my wild oats by plowing different fields," she said before immediately adding, "Kidding. Very much kidding. I think the fact my little unicorns don't already have younger siblings is a clear testament to that."

There was no way Lucas was fighting on her that one, because she was technically right. She did however chuckle as she watched the woman go in for the babies' cheeks. "So that's where the cute aggression comes from," she teased back, before raising a brow at the last comment. "Wanky."

KEAGAN

Lucas' brain was definitely going through it as of late, the recent events being the latest source. If only she had been around, maybe she could've at least prevented Ricky's actions. She smiled softly, "Well, we definitely don't want that. If it helps, we've got two baby girls right in front of us to focus on." Her eyes then rolled when Luke's mischievous streak came back right after. "Sure but this is a rare moment so I don't see why we wouldn't take advantage of it."

"They also take after you. Let's not forget what the twins were up to growing up - or so you kept telling me." One would think there was at least one twin who was calmer, but the two of them were basically partners in crime. Even Keagan felt bad for every girl who Luke dated because they got in the war path of their daughters. Her eyes narrowed playfully before reaching over and lightly shoved the other.

"While I don't know if we can all handle a third Lyra, at the same time, I don't know if the kid could handle these sisters." She laughed as she watched Skylar's hand reaching out for her sister in her sleep. Her little face turning into a frown when she couldn't find who she was 'looking' for. "Here you go, baby.." She whispered as she carefully slid the kid over a little so that Sky could grab onto Mila. "I see nothing's changed."

LUKE

At the mere mention of the girls, Luke's focus was already completely enraptured in watching the rise and fall of their tiny chests, the small little twitches of their noses and the corners of their lips sporadically as they dreamt on. "I know I've been referring to them as my mini-mes and we even started a band called Copy and _Paste_...but it is still so overwhelmingly mind-blowing to think _I_ somehow managed to luck out and have even the most microscopic involvement in these _two_ perfect little girls being here right now...or at all really." If the awe in her eyes wasn't enough, the awe in her tone as she spoke should do it. Looking back up at Keagan, she held the same level of reverence for her as she did the babies between them. "Thank you doesn't even begin to scratch at the surface of the gratitude I genuinely feel for you. Not only have you been my best friend for so long, and you see _me_ in spite of all my attempts at mirages, but the fact that in order for me to get the chance to call myself a mother _you_ had to reciprocate my feelings and be willing to take such a journey with me -even back then- I just-" she stopped to swallow back the emotion in her throat before she risked waking the girls. "Words aren't enough, but I hope to be able to find a way to show my gratitude for the woman that is you some way, some how."

LUKE

Grinning all Luke had to say was, "You've officially been here to witness their day-to-day for almost _three_ consecutive months now. Surely you don't need anyone describing their personalities to you." At the narrowing of hazel eyes, Luke felt a spike in her heart rate -and was almost certain the mama wolf heard it- as such a look was usually followed with Keagan kicking someone's ass. She did find reassurance in the fact even Keagan wouldn't risk the girls for a fight, and could only chuckle as she was finally met with nothing more than a shove.

"There was a time when we weren't sure those sisters could handle _this aunt_, so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt...if they so feel up for the task once they're back to being adults, of course," she noted. Luke watched as Skylar immediately managed to wrap herself around her sister, only to the proceed to try to..eat? Miles..."Babe, I think they might be hungry..."

KEAGAN

There was a reason why it was not a surprise to anyone when they revealed who was the biological parents of the twins. And there were *two* of them which was a blessing on its own. She felt the same about them lucking out. And as often as their family pointed out, it was very interesting to see what traits each twin took from both of them. Her lips twitched in amusement when Luke looked up, only to *thank* her - again. "I am just as thankful because they wouldn't be here without *you*." Keagan could feel it in her bones that if it weren't for Luke, the twins wouldn't be here - there might be children, but it wouldn't be *them*. "You're a big part of why the twins are who they are " She chuckled. "You don't have to prove anything, you're their mother. You've already done so much. Much more than you seem to believe."

She let out a soft snort after her shove. The twins both took after them without question. "Apparently your traits and my traits combining is just.. chaotic?" Not that it was a problem as evidence shown with how much the family adored the two girls. Her eyes looked down again, watching them in silence until another thought came to mind, "To think Miles got all your height." Right now, the babies were the same size more or less, but Miles did get that growth spurt in the end.

"It'd be interesting to see what sort of kid will come after these two.." The twins were a nice balance, Keagan could only imagine what a third kid would be like. As much as she'd like to keep pondering on it, Sky's actions caught her attention at the same time as Luke's pet name for her. "Oh baby." She laughed as she gently pried Sky off of her sister. "We should wake them up to feed them... Otherwise Sky might just.. inhale her cheek. Are the stuff still downstairs? I can go fetch them - and see how they're fairing with Tomi."

LUKE

Luke knew there was no point in arguing over the matter, and honestly it's not like mattered in the end. After all, Keagan was right. The twins were who they were because of the circumstances they were brought into, and that included Luke herself -in one way or another. So ultimately, it all came out in the wash. Also, there was really no 'arguing' with a Calvetti so... "Well, here's to my memory being up to par so we can keep up with them at this stage again," she chuckled.

"Makes sense. We balance each other out because of the traits we _don't_ have in common, if these two have a similar mix of traits between them, they'll be keeping us on our toes for the rest of time," she said, though there was zero reproach to her words. If anything, it almost sounded like she was looking forward to it. Probably because she was. At the mention of the height difference, Luke practically pouted. "Ugh, it's been one week and I don't think I'll ever hear the end of it from Skylar. I swear that kid seems to think I have much more control over things, like the divvying up of genetics in-utero, than I actually do."

"Hmm, I think the most prevalent and constant traits in our offspring so far have been kindness, loyalty, and chaos so...maybe this is meant to be a refresher of sorts, so we can both remember what it's like to have little spastic nuggets around and be sure ourselves before we pose the matter to the girls," she chuckled. At the matter of feeding the girls, Luke gently stood back up, and said "I think it'd be easier to just pop back downstairs and feed them there. If there's even the vaguest hint that they might be awake, there's only so much Rikke, Nix, and Erin will be able to do to keep Lyra from barging up here anyway. If you'll grab Miles, I'll grab Sky, and then you can hold my hand so we can orb down."

KEAGAN

"Are you saying that they don't keep us on our toes already? Because I'm not so sure about that." She laughed, "The mischief that they get up to - with you and Hunter at times." She was merely joking but some of those videos she saw did concern her from time to time.. Most of the time. Keagan was definitely glad that the girls' individual channels weren't in the same genre.

She shrugged, "She either thinks you didn't have much control over it or I just gave her too much of it." Her eyes rolled, "I don't want to admit to which side of the family her dramatics come from but my sister is Lyra." Keagan wondered if the trait just liked to zone onto one sibling per generation. All or nothing. "

Keagan smiled as she looked down at the two girls, thinking of the qualities they did have in chaos. How thankful she was they turned out the way they were and to know just how loved they were amongst everyone around them. "If we make it through .. however long this is going to last." The older woman stood up at the suggestion and picked Miles up carefully into her arms before reaching out her hand. "Lyra is still going to know where we are." She pointed out regardless if Nix and Teg were still able to keep the Hurrnado at bay.

LUKE

“Not my toes,” Luke replied nonchalantly. “My day job has kept me fit enough to keep up with them easily, and now I can _orb_. But baby brains? Completely unpredictable, along with their moods,” she said, a tinge of fear in her voice at the last bit.

“Do wish she’d been allowed the braincell during science class,” Luke remarked, before Keagan’s next comment made her groan and roll her eyes. “Why couldn’t she have gotten JJ’s genes,” she whined, knowing full well there was zero would change about either of her girls.

Luke scooped up Skylar and let out a light laugh as she said, “Jesus Cal, you make it sound like a pair of twins is going to be what takes us out.” Reaching out her owns hand, she gently took Keagan’s and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Lyra is only physically allowed to enter specific areas of the house thanks to the wards Erin and Tomi so graciously put up for me after I found out they’d done it to their own room…”

KEAGAN

"It seems that they're still somewhat aware of who everyone is, so that might mean they've retain their memories moreorless - but that might make them twice the handful than when they were actually this age." There wasn't much they could do as preparation since, as Luke said, the kids were unpredictable.

Keagan shrugged, "She.. strangely takes after Lyra quite a bit... Let's not have Lyra know that." She assumed her younger sister didn't know about it because she had a feeling Lyra would point that out at every opportunity. "At least Miles doesn't take after her as much?"

Within a blink of an eye, they were in the kitchen and the older wolf carefully sat Miles on the table. "They warded their own room?" Her eyes narrowed, already knowing the reason behind *that*. As long as it doesn't stand in the way of emergencies, Keagan was fine with that. "Here, can you make sure Miles don't fall off while I go grab their bottles?"

LUKE

“That just means we don’t get the reprieve of them not figuring out we’re practically wrapped around their tiny little fingers until two years in,” Luke half grumbled, though the grin on her face made it hard to make it a genuine complaint.

At Keagan’s words Luke simply made a motion of zipping her mouth shut and throwing away the key. As they materialized in the kitchen, Luke was already being assaulted be the sounds of their incoming visitors even as they’d managed to make minimal noise. “There wasn’t much they did in the way of hiding _it_, so…”

She moved in closer so she could place a hand on Miles even before Keagan asked, just smiling at the woman as she nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll have plenty of willing hands offering assistance soon enough.”

KEAGAN

Keagan smiled at the *fact* that the two babies had every member of the Calvetti-Holstein family wrapped around their fingers, not just the two of them. "They are definitely spoiled for a reason - One would say that's our fault so we can't complain."

Her ears picked up on the noises coming from outside the kitchen and she was already bracing herself for the moment Lyra was going to *burst* into the room. Lyra did not walk into one, she blows in like the hurrnado that she was. "Preferably not Lyra's hands."

She hoped either anyone but Lyra came in first so they can prevent the youngest Calvetti from getting to the babies before they get the chance to feed them. Keagan went to get the milk prepped and carefully swapped a baby for one of the bottles.

RIKKE

The older Paladin had been able to keep Lyra at bay by using Tomi as a distraction, but once the baby had been picked up by her own parents...all bets were _off_. That woman was primed and ready to use any excuse to get back upstairs, but her plans were thwarted by Teagan and Phoenix at every turn. Eventually, it got to the point the woman forewent excuses all together, and then it required Erin to give a bit of helping magical hand. After all, Lyra was still a wolf -even though she seemed to completely forget that when Teagan managed to get a hold of her...

Rikke sensed her charges shift over to the kitchen at almost the exact same time that Lyra picked up their scent. The two witches and Teagan seemed to catch on just a fraction of a second after them, but the youngest Calvetti sibling was off, and so was Rikke. Using some quick thinking, she just orbed over to the kitchen, managing to arrive just in time to intercept the small woman by scooping her up in a bear hug. Ignoring the complaints from her 'captive' she turned to offer the two mothers a smile. "So, interesting night no?"

KEAGAN

It was almost certain that Lyra had a radar on them. Honestly, Lyra would perhaps be the best agent if she used her skill set on anything else side from *gossip*. She could already hear the footsteps running towards the kitchen and just as she looked up, she saw the eldest Paladin hugging Lyra to prevent the woman from taking another step towards them. A brow only shot up in amusement at the sight before sending Rikke an apologetic look.

"The babies were getting hungry so we're just grabbing them some milk. They're going to sleep afterwards." At the latter, she gave her sister a stern look, silently telling her that the babies should not be disturbed during that time. "I.. think you guys were having a harder time than us though."

TEAGAN

He'd taken off after Lyra as soon as he'd clocked the look on her face, but despite his many amazing attributes, he was still only human. And one with rather short legs at that so...When he finally reached the kitchen, it was to the sight of Rikke managing to have corralled the young wolf in a tight grasp. Though based on the look currently on Lyra's face, she wasn't exactly doing much in the way of fighting to get out of that _specific_ position...

Turning his attention to his nieces' instead, he smiled and said, "Looks like the pups are looking sleep _while_ they eat as well. They get that from Spooky. Girl once inhaled an entire party size bag of Doritos without once opening her eyes." Letting a small sigh, the short king just grinned and said, "I can only speak for myself, but things have become slightly more manageable since Erin noted that Rikke was technically Luke, but single. Even if the poor girl did mean it as a joke."

LYRA

Not actually fighting out of the hug, Lyra leaned in a direction slightly to take a peek at the youngest members of the family. "I think itty bitty sky is inhaling her drink - like look at that speed." If anything, Lyra leaned *back* into the paladin, smile adorning her face when Teg mentioned that Rikke was technically an available Luke, "We're definitely not saying that Rikke and Luke are the same person, but tall, hot, and seems to be capable of doing many, many things? Uh, yes please." No shame at all there.

"The Holstein genes are quite strong." She pointed out, physically pointing at Rikke, to Luke, to the twins. "Like *uncanny*." Lyra was enjoying being in Rikke's arms *very* much and did not care for the looks she may or may not be getting from everyone else.

RIKKE

Rikke wasn't entirely sure how she was feeling about the manner in which Lyra was reacting to being 'held', but if her arms around the small woman's waist were the only things keeping her feet off the ground and away from the babies, then so be it. It definitely helped to actually have the babies insight now as a distraction _and_ reminder of why she was enduring...whatever the hell this was. "Things that include orbing you directly to your parent's house in the blink of an eye, so maybe don't push your luck?"

There was a streak of pride that she couldn't help but feel at the validation of how her family genetics were clearly visible in her three youngest descendants. "I will say, this is probably the most women we've managed in such a close succession, generationally speaking. I was the youngest of many children, all boys. Three sets of twins though, so at least now you know where those two came from."

KEAGAN

While Lyra immediately quiet down since she surely didn't want to be orbed to their parents' place, it didn't stop the look on her face when Rikke mentioned about being the youngest of many children. Keagan could only let out a sigh and a stern glare. "Three sets of twins? Wow, I don't suppose you were part of those sets?" She asked, and immediately regretted because Lyra was *very* intrigued for the answer. "Feel free to orb my sister to my mom whenever you wish, by the way. You have full permission for that."

Her eyes looked down at both the twins, only to discover that the one in Luke's arms had consumed the bottle way faster - which really shouldn't be surprising. "Do you think she's still hungry?" The kid look like it might just eat the bottle if she could.

RIKKE

The Paldin was very close to just taking up the deputy on her offer, and orbing Lyra away, but that had the potential of backfiring in the sense that Ianthe could then wonder aloud if Rikke had been bested by Lyra...Not yet. "I, uh, was not. I was more of what modern folks would refer to as an 'oops baby'. The second youngest was twenty-two years older than I was, so needless to say, my parents were more than happy to let him and his wife take over where I was concerned once they found they couldn't conceive of their own. A rarity for werewolves, but back in those days not as entirely unheard of as it is now."

The blonde watched as Luke went about keeping the almost bottle in place, while fixing up a second, and then swiftly swapping them out without the baby even noticing. "And it is moments like this that remind this is technically not the first time these girls have been babies," she chuckled.

KEAGAN

Keagan looked up when Rikke answered the question about being an 'oops baby'. That seemed to be a common theme in the family, and she did not expect such a large age gap between the two youngest siblings. Moreover, did their own set of twins consider as oops babies? No one would have anticipated their arrivals. "Oh? Your family were wolves as well?" What a coincidence.

Luke was definitely more fluent in dealing with them and watching her swap bottles with ease further proved that. However, one could say that as long as there was food, Sky would have been oblivious either way. "I'm glad we got to get this chance again to experience it.. Although it's clear as day that Sky had always been about the food since day 1..."

RIKKE

A look of confusion came over her features before it gave way to realization. "Right, you guys would only have access to Holstein information going back to my arrival in the town. But yes, the Holstein pack was one of the most well known in wolf packs in the North. It originated in Oslo, Norway but when hunting got heavy the pack was forced to migrate through Sweden to Copenhagen, in Denmark. We lived on the outskirts of the actual populous in peace for several generations more until the hunters caught up with us. I was only able to escape to America because my own wolf never triggered, and due to the Paladin process, now it never will."

After such a topic, the eldest in the room was more than happy to have her attention brought back to the two, currently tiny, reasons that everything she'd been through was worth it. "Well, now we know it's not her fault. She just gets wolf-hunger from both sides," Rikke chuckled before tapering off and saying, "I'm just kidding. I don't actually know how that would work or even *if* it would work..."

KEAGAN

Keagan gave a look of sympathy for hearing that Rikke's family had been a victim because of hunters. "...Despite circumstances, I think I can speak for everyone here that we're very thankful you're with us here today." Because without Rikke, they wouldn't have the family they do now. "Who knows? Maybe the wolf gene actually got passed down in some way or another? At this point, I think anything can really happen." One would think that was a joke but her kids were literal babies at the moment, Keagan doesn't think anything could surprise her now.

"With that being said, I think Sky is just naturally a glutton. Miles did not try to eat her sister." She laughed before leaning to give both her girls a kiss on their cheeks, ignoring the small whine from Sky for interrupting her meal.

LUKE

Luke looked somber as Rikke related just how many links there were in the awful chain of events that ultimately, in an ironic twist, led to the family's remaining living members to their happiest point. Of course, that look was completely replaced as the mention of werwolf genes was reiterated by Keagan, her eyes immediately locking with Teag's across the room. They didn't a 'twin thing' to know they were both already thinking the same thing. Of course, both immediately went back to their respective tasks so as to not raise too many questions.

"I did have to put Sky on these like trainer plates back when she was like five. Kid kept eating so fast I was constantly wither doing the Heimlich or reassuring Miles that no, her sister wasn't gonna die from the massive bite she managed to take out of her own mouth," Luke shared, glancing down at the tiny ginger just going to town on her _second_ bottle. "At least she made a career out of it."

PHOENIX

She had walked in much later after the rest of the family caught up with Lyra - and was not going to acknowledge that her cousin was not even going to attempt to get out of the Paladin's arms. Thankfully they drew the topic from *that* and learned more about the other. From where she stood, it was easy to catch Luke and Teg shared a look together and Nix, again, feigned ignorance. Whatever mischief they were up to, she did not want to know. She was already having a hard time getting Lyra to behave.

"I think she might need it again with the rate she's going through that second bottle." She nodded towards the kid who was already 3/4's on her way to the end. "Didn't you just give that to her? I don't think anyone in the family is as fast as her." Like who did that kid take after?

LUKE

Luke opened her mouth and then immediately shut it again. "I value my life too much to give you the full Fallcrest Pack eating speed rankings at this moment. Teag and I have been keeping track since were seven, and then Hunter took over for me while I was in Seattle -though she had no idea _what_ she was helping Teag with- and then I took over for Teag when he hit Philly."

Glancing down at Sky, she tsked and said, "Oh, we're going to want to make sure we burp this one really well. With how fast she's drinking it down, she's bound to have ingested a bunch of air into her gut too. Oh! Lyra can help burp the girls!"

PHOENIX

Her eyes immediately went straight to her other cousin after Luke mentioned that she valued her life too much. It seemed that she might not be the only one who thought so either because.. by process of elimination.. it wasn't a hard guess as to whom was number one on that list. "Did you all just timed everyone when you go out to eat? Because.. Maybe we shouldn't eat together now." She joked.

Subtly - or not - she walked over and pulled Lyra along with her to where the babies were. "Oh look, perfect timing." The bottles were just about done. "You're up." She said, although she was willing to take one of the twins too and help out.

LYRA

Lyra had been far too busy taking advantage of how distracted the older Paladin had been while sharing to genuinely listen to what was being said. Her hands were busy roaming everywhere within reach, without squirming too much -though that wasn't necessarily due to lack of desire to do so...- but after the woman's threat to be sent to her parents' home, she made sure to never actually _touch_ her more than the 'restraint' called for. Just the _ghost_ of a touch, as her hand hovered a paper's width from the Paladin's skin. She was too busy making her own faces, smirks, and grins at her cousin once she caught up to them to notice anyone else's faces.

Without absolutely no hint of shame, Lyra actually, audibly whimpered when Nix managed to drag her out of Rikke's arms and away. As she was pushed towards the women and the babies a startled look, mixed with confusion crossed her face as she asked, "I'm doing what now?!"

PHOENIX

All the smirks and grins Lyra had sent her way, Nix was giving them all back to her now as she gently picked up a baby and gave her to Lyra. "You are burping them. You know how to do that, yeah? Here, have Sky." Anything to keep Lyra busy - that wasn't her hitting on family members.

"Here, I can take Miles for a bit so you guys can take a break." She offered and turned her attention to said kid even if she had a feeling that the parents wouldn't leave or at least wouldn't go very far. Nix didn't see them as often during the first time around but she could tell just how attached her cousin was. Which was good. No one in the family wanted to see Keagan be so far away from everyone.

LYRA

Lyra could only send her cousin a look that said ‘well played’, as she was informed of what she had been tasked with while distracted. It was obvious to anyone that Lyra didn’t even know how to hold a baby, let alone _burp_ one. “Uh,” she began, as Sky was placed in her arms, “I- no? Why would I know anything about de-gassing an infant? I hardly know about de-gassing myself,” she admitted.

Glancing over as Nix offered to take Miles, she looked almost offended as she asked, “Well why can’t I get to burp the less gassy one? I mean, like, what happens if you do it wrong? Does she like, blow up like a balloon? Can’t we just wait for her to like rip one real good one instead?”

KEAGAN

Deciding to give Lyra a small break from Nix's teasing, Keagan went over to her younger sister and helped her get Sky in a more comfortable position. "Pat.. Yep, like that." She demonstrated a few times before letting Lyra do the rest. "See, you can do it. She's not going to explode." Nix purposely put Sky into Lyra's arms, Keagan was not going to interfere with whatever the two cousins were doing to each other.

"She may be a baby, but you're not going to break her." She smiled at the way Lyra was holding the kid. "Look at how Nix is doing it - just burp the kid, Lyr."

TEAGAN

Having grown up with the woman, and being the one to remain in the most constant contact with her, Teagan was almost certain he could almost _hear_ the werewolf’s thought process…or at least make a really good guess. “K, if you hadn’t stepped in Lyra was two seconds away from yeeting Little Red right back at Spooky just to get out of displaying _how_ much she _didn’t_ know about babies,” he noted, to a round of snickering.

“And before you go off about me showing off my own baby know-how, not only was I here for my nieces the first go around, but I’ll be more than happy to help out again…very few people can single-handedly manage them both on their own….and by that I mean one.”

KEAGAN

Keg smiled her friend, "I could tell." Why else would she follow up and helped Lyra with Skylar. "At the very least, I had to make sure she doesn't drop her niece." She gave a playful glare at her sister, though one could say it was a warning. Though that look shifted to a confused look when Teg would assume she'd got off on him. "You're always welcome to stay. We can always use the help." She refrained from saying that they might need help with *Lyra* instead of the twins. Who better than have Teg who knew her sister best?

Taking the empty bottle from the counter, she went over to the sink. "I don't think Mick's expecting me to come to work tomorrow, but I should actually let her know." Though she was already contemplating bringing them with her.

LUKE

Luke rarely fixed anyone in the cabin with anything more than, what most describe as, 'a failed attempt at a glower, but successful execution of mental calculus'. This time however, even as her eyes didn't change much in the way of expression, the slight eyebrow she raised in Lyra's direction was more than enough to make her friend actually right herself and begin to burp the baby properly. "Yeet my children, and I will _personally_ orb you to rural Mississippi."

She didn't bother addressing Teagan's offer to help, because honestly that was a given and always welcome. But Keagan's comment did make her snort in laughter. "Puh-lease, don't act like you aren't already thinking of how you're going to keep Nikk

KEAGAN

Keagan was very amused by how fast Lyra got to burping Sky from Luke's glare. "I'm sure Lyra knows better to harm the twins with everyone here watching her." Once she was done with the dishes, she returned to stand beside Lucas and automatically leaned against her. And yes, she did have a soft spot for her baby sister.

Her eyes rolled, "I will have to head in *eventually* because I took way too many days off, don't you think? They gave me a vacation at the start. And then so many things happened after that. I should actually go spend time at the office when I can to catch up on things." She sighed, "I might have to ban Nikki from entering my office.

LUKE

As much as Luke appreciated the slight little display of affection, she knew the woman well enough to know that leaning against her right now was mainly a subtle way to ensure that she didn't opt for lunging at her younger sister anyway. "You assume that Lyra has mastered the art of forethought," she replied flatly, earning herself a look of offense being thrown at her over Sky's head.

Luke just laughed. "You make it sound like you've been out of the office for ages. Mick gave you a _month_ off. It's only been _one week_, and you've already gone into the office to micro-manage Andy on _three separate days_. I would know, because one of those days was yesterday when, I assuming, you suddenly remembered I had to go see Col and wound up bursting in his office as he was pulling out a stitch, scared the shit out of him, and caused him to _literally_ rip me a new one...uh, a new cut, that is." She pointed to the smaller bandage now in place, her powers still not quite full-on as her body still processed the 'aftermath' after-effects. "I'm not sure you screaming at him 'why is it still bleeding' as your initial greeting helped matters either."

KEAGAN

Usually Keagan would have complained that a month was too much because it felt weird not to be working. However, now that she was *home* and her babies were literal babies, she was more than thankful of the time. "Has it only been a week?" Because with everything it honestly felt like more than that. She nudged the taller woman with the back of her head when she was made fun of micromanaging. "I apologized in the end." She muttered, feeling rather embarrassed but not wanting to admit that.

"And he's a lot more jumpy than I remembered." Her eyes rolled but still, she felt guilty for indirectly giving Luke another wound. "Anyways! I guess I don't have to worry about distracting anyone at work anymore."

LUKE

Luke simply nodded, hoping this little realization would help Keagan understand why the redhead was still actively processing the fact she helped make _two_ babies...that were now suddenly babies again. "Yup...though I think I can understand why it might've felt like a year. Quite a list of things have happened and now there's a new surprise to contend with." She rolled her eyes at the failed attempt to defend herself by the _Chief_ Deputy. "If it worked out anything like it usually does at home, I'm sure Andy will have nothing but wonderful things to say about you."

Luke fixed her with a look and said, "His door had to be replaced, also he mentioned something about you and your mom practically threatening his life the last time he saw you guys so....I'd be jumpy as fuu- uh, -udge too." She then let out another snort of laughter. "Yeah you do. You're going to go back in at least twice a week between now and when you're officially back, and you're going to be taking the babies with you because you can."

KEAGAN

"This town definitely has enough surprises to keep everyone on their toes." That was .. not a good thing since she hadn't even been officially in her office for that long. Not that she would trade it again to go back into the field but she could swear she had more peaceful moments out there. "Hmm.. I guess if Andy has to page me, then that's when we should be panicking." Wit the things she had heard and seen so far, Andy was more than capable enough to deal with anything that came their way.

Keagan wasn't even going to defend herself with what happened at Col's but she will forever remain behind her stance that the Alpha was too jumpy. Surely, her mom would also say the same. "As if you wouldn't be taking the twins with you either? Lucas, you would be the one to teach parkour whilst carrying them." She sighed, "We should really work out our schedules so that someone's with them everyday when we do have work."

LUKE

"If Andy has to page you, it's likely because one of your deputies is being a pain. I think if _Mick_ feels the need to page you, then maybe they need some assistance," Luke pointed out, already knowing that Keagan was just going to use _any_ excuse to go into her office whenever she felt the need to. It was _not_ in that woman's nature to be still and relax. Hadn't been since they were kids, wasn't about to suddenly start now.

"Been there, done that," she replied with ease, reaching into her pocket as her phone buzzed. "If anything, you should be happy this time I would be doing it with prior....experience...." Her statement waned towards the end as she was distracted by the comment she read, before just putting the phone back. "Col can't legally clear me for work for at least like 4 to 6 months, so I don't think that will be an issue."

PHOENIX

She didn't know what she was more intrigued with: Luke teasing Keagan, or Lyra watching Luke tease Keagan. Either way, she was sure her cousin was *very* fascinated by the scene. "I think it's a good thing you haven't been called in, Keg." She pointed out, "It means that there aren't any problems, why would you jinx that?" She snorted, as if she herself hadn't been on an extended vacation herself under the guise of family emergency.

"You know what, Lyr? I totally understand now." She referred to how Luke had not been unalived by Keagan with the things she revealed. Carrying the twins while parkouring? That sounded like something her older cousin would not want. "So that means you get to be with the kids 24/7 for the next 4 to 6 months?" Because that lowered the chances of needing any of them - mainly Lyra - to babysit.

LUKE

Luke looked pointedly at Keagan at Nix's words as she nodded, clearly indicating that the younger cousin had a point. "Words have power," she added, though even as she said it, Lucas knew that there were many a way Keagan -or anyone in the room, really- could turn that right back around on her. She briefly looked over at the 'Burping Cousins' as they shared a look that Luke recognized as the same one she often shared with the twins, Teagan, Hunter, Tomi, and now even Erin and Rikke. Sean was far too innocent to conspire with. She didn't take the bait, and opted _not_ to ask for clarification.

"Theoretically, yes. But even though I can't be cleared for my day job, I still have a brand to ensure continues to remain relevant so when the girls get back to their usual selves they still have an active fanbase to do what they've grown to love. So no, you and the rest won't be getting out of babysitting duty _that_ easily. I may be confident in my abilities to _teach_ basic parkour to kids while holding my own kids, but I don't think there'a many shoots where it would be advised that I bring two babies along. Dangerous, dilapidated, haunted."

KEAGAN

"I really do not want to know that you're parkouring while carrying two babies with you." She sighed, but there wasn't a much of a threat behind those words. If Lucas did it before, there was a very high chance she was going to do it again this time around. Even if she knew the younger woman wouldn't put the twins in harm's way, it was still.. stressful to think about. At least she drew the line at haunted places since most of them were most likely abandoned and old.

While it looked like Lyra was finally getting used to burping Sky, she could spot the little frown and pout on her face and so, Keagan walked over to save.. someone from the other before the crying started. And since she was there anyways, she also grabbed Miles. Having a twin in each arm was.. pure bliss for the Chief Deputy. "God, they're so cute." She muttered before giving each a kiss on the head. "I think we should put them in the cribs so they can sleep."

LUKE

Luke was quiet for all of two seconds before she asked, "Would it be better if I had more with me?" Even she wasn't entirely sure if she was just kidding or not at this point, as her mind was already thinking about the different maneuvers that would work and keep the babies safe. "I mean, I can't do it at the course at the gym and I would be way too stupid to think that would be a good idea to post on youtube, for various reasons, but the house is safe enough..."

Taking in the sight of the very content smile easily spreading over Keagan's face as she got to hold both of her girls in her arms, and just be...it was all Luke could do not to just melt into a giant puddle of emotions right then and there. "They take after their mother," Luke said with a grin. Glancing down at her watch and noting the time she said, "Yeah, I think everyone could probably do with some sleep. Rikke, you're more than welcome to stay over. Nix can show you to one of the available guest rooms." Was it payback for the earlier remark? Of course it was.

PHOENIX

"....I don't think that was the direction she was going for, Luke." She glanced back to her cousin, only to see her shake her head exasperatedly - clearly not wanting to give the Paladin anymore ideas. Nix also didn't want to add fuel to the fire so she focused on the twins instead even if they weren't paying any attention to her.

A brow only perked when Luke seemingly gave another jab at Keagan. The amount of chances that her cousin had given Luke in a span of a couple of minutes was astounding that both Lyra and Nix could not stop exchanging looks.

Until Luke decided to get Nix to help Rikke, because that caused her to *avoid* the younger Calvetti the best she could while giving a subtle glare at the one who gave the suggestion. "... Sure. I can do that." She looked over to Rikke to see what her opinion of this was.

RIKKE

It had been an incredibly long time since Rikke had been able to witness -let alone be a part of- such a genuine, familial camaraderie that it was honestly not even a true chore to have had to wrangle Lyra as part of the deal. Sure, she had a kind of family relationship with Jack, Hanu, and even Maths, but that was a byproduct of their kind of career -both mundane and supernatural- while this? This was just family being _family_. Something she hadn't been allowed to be involved in since she left Denmark, really.

It didn't keep her from noticing all the little silent looks being thrown around, and if anything she found herself sharing a few with Teagan as they themselves found amusement in how sly the two younger cousins thought they were being. Honestly, if they had both just literally been holding the double _aftermath_ of Luke and Keagan having done far more than just throw quips at each other, what surprised them about the fact Keagan wasn't swinging yet?

The invitation to stay was unexpected, but wholly welcome and it was probably clear by the look on her face. "Oh, uh...I mean, if it's not too much of an imposition, I'd greatly appreciate that. As their Paladin it gives me the chance to more closely monitor them and try and sort out the ins and outs of this change, and as their relative who missed out on the first eighteen years, it gives me an excuse to be around," she admitted. The only thing that gave her pause was the glare that Phoenix suddenly sent Luke's way... "But, it's no trouble, really. I'm sure I can find my own way with some general direction..." Rikke trailed off a bit as she looked about. "...why is this still called a cabin, again?"

PHOENIX

She really should've known better than to tease anyone in this household because payback would be ten-fold everytime. When Rikke started insist that she could find her own way around, Phoenix shook her head and walked right over. "No, no. I can give you a tour while we're at it." She sighed, "That's what we've been saying but it started as a cabin and will forever be called a cabin, no matter what shape it ended up being - according to Lucas."

She started off in the direction of where the guest rooms were. Once they were getting near the rooms, Phoenix motioned towards them, "Take your pick - Lyra and I are in that one over there so depends how far you want to be from us?" Was it a joke? Even she wasn't sure.

RIKKE

She nodded and took the smaller woman's lead, though still apprehensive. Phoenix was the one person that didn't seem to take the news that she was Luke's ancestor quite so well, and now the suggestion of helping her to a room had the woman glaring at the redhead. At her words, however, she did join in on the congenial conversation. "Ah, that makes sense then. If growing up in this spot was home to Lucas, the term 'cabin' became less a descriptor of the building and more a word synonymous with home. It's rather similar to how I always address returning to the station as 'returning to the stables'. It's what I grew accustomed before, and now that I have my own memories back, it's become a habit," she chucked.

As they approached the rooms, she took note of how Phoenix specifically mentioned where she would be and distance. "I think given that you were here first, it's more of a matter of how far _you_ would like me to be, no?"

PHOENIX

"I don't know if the cabin was home for her, but I think all the renovations she did with Sky surely made it into one." Nix spoke too soon when she thought it was a good thing that they were keeping things light between them as they were finally left alone for the first time in a while. She still didn't know how to feel, knowing that the other was basically Luke's ancestor, and Lyra's teasing did not help at all with that. They eventually had to deal with all of that someday, but the shifter didn't think Rikke was going to bring it up right now in the middle of the hallway. "

She leaned against the wall behind her as she look down the hallway where her room was. "I'm fine with any room you choose, but the question is more so.. how far you want Lyra to be from you?" She looked back up at the Paladin, "I may be her roommate, but there is nothing on Earth that could stop Lyra from visiting you. We're just thankful all the rooms are sound-proof, though I could always add an extra layer for you if you want?"

RIKKE

"I think that just goes to exemplify that home to her is less a place and more the people she cares about. I'm almost certain they could've kept the cabin as it was, but as along as she had the twins with her, she'd have been okay with calling it home," Rikke noted before adding, "Though I'm sure the demolition and renovations were a much more fun approach to things." The entire place still felt like something out of a story to the Paladin, to be honest. In none of the times she'd been awake had she ever encountered something grand and yet cozy, whose design somehow managed to takin into account all of its occupants. From the low counters to the high door frames.

Her attention was drawn back to the witch as she spoke again, her answer only earning a low chuckle from the older woman. "I find far more telling than you might think how in one breath you've managed to state you're fine with whatever room I choose, _and_ also drag up your cousin and her habits. It's like tossing a snowball at someone and then immediately dodge behind a tree for either safety or to avoid the consequences of your actions," Rikke noted, before looking up and down the hallway and then pointing at the opposite end. "I think I'll take the hint though, and just head over there. Have a good night, Phoenix."

PHOENIX

"I'm pretty sure the demolition was one of the bonding moments she had with the twins. It's a good stress reliever - or so I'm told." She shrugged, "I think everyone is just impressed because it doesn't seem there is anything that she doesn't know how to do. If she doesn't, she actually takes the time to learn - or maybe it was just trial and error, but either way, Luke might give the Irwins a run for their money."

Her cheeks did flair a bit when the other caught onto what she was doing and had the decency to look embarrassed for having done so in the first place. "Wait.. that.." She looked down the hall, feeling bad that the other decided to choose one so far when there's really no reason to. "You don't need to do that. Honestly, you can choose one closer, I'll be fine with it." She made a point to end the sentence there unlike earlier. However, she was back to the first problem she had - not knowing what to say next. "I.. " She started before she realized that they were still in the hallway so she quickly pulled Rikke into the closest room and shut the door... And add an extra barrier just in case. "Sorry, it didn't seem like a good idea to have this conversation in the hallway when there's a very curious wolf in the house." She took a breath before trying again, "I.. am sorry if I had been making things.. weird and I promise, it's nothing you've done. You haven't done anything. I'm just.. I got *very* hyper aware when we learned that you're my cousin's best friend's... great grandmother. Like I was literally .. grinding against you on the dance floor - only to find that out. It just tripped me out a lot more than I realized.. Lyra's also no help if you consider her personality."

RIKKE

"Photographic reflexes _are_ technically something that we made paladins have as an ability, to help in adapting to whatever time we awake in faster, so I suppose something of that may have been passed down," Rikke noted, "Granted, it's all still so new it's hard to tell what powers she was born with and which were just now triggered so, she may just really like learning and trying knew things...?"

Rikke stopped when asked to wait, and listened as she was told to pick whichever room she'd like, but when it became apparent that Phoenix was having a bit of hard time getting words out, she just offered her a sympathetic smile and waved a hand as she said, "It's okay, Nix. You don't have to say anything. You don't owe me any kind of explanation, especially not this very mohhh-" Her words trailed off into a sound of surprise as the smaller woman suddenly pulled her into the nearest room. The surprise gave way to confusion -and maybe slight concern- as she sensed the extra magic being added, but that was cleared up at the reminder of Lyra.

Sliding her hands into her back pockets, more so because she didn't really know what to do with them, she listened to the woman speak, and the sympathetic smile returned as she glanced down to meet her eyes. "I too, am sorry if you felt ambushed into providing an explanation just now, that...wasn't _necessarily_ my intention. But, it _was_ starting to get really hard to overlook how awkward things had suddenly become and I guess-" she shrugged and sighed "-I guess I just panicked a little. You really are one of the only close friends that I've managed to make since -sorry for highlighting this- the 1890s, so the thought of losing that and not really understanding why was more than a little upsetting," she admitted. "The fact that you're a great dance partner is just a bonus as far as I'm concerned, and for the record, I was in stasis for the vast majority of the time between getting here and now."

PHOENIX

Nix only chuckled when their age gap was emphasized once more. "I get it, and I'm sorry. It *is* fun to have you around, hanging with us, with the twins - the fact that we get one more helping hand to keep Lyr at bay. You have no idea what a blessing it has been." She chuckled softly, "You've also been a really good dance partner too - It's just.. Like I said, learning that.. I basically *hit on* my friend's *ancestor* ... one that you're *both* part of the family tree as well - that's.. th-that's something to wrap my mind around." She gave a wry smile at her reasoning.

Her hand pushed back her bangs before her back leaned against the closed door. "But I am sorry - for causing you to.. well, panic because I should've .. spoke about this a lot sooner. The constant teasing from Lyra *really* didn't help things - but I shouldn't really pin the blame on her. I was pretty scared to confront it myself. Clearly - with all the avoidance." She rambled on.

RIKKE

She couldn't help the smile at the thought of being welcome and wanted as part of the fold, chaotic as it could clearly be. "I'll take Lyra duty any time if it means I get to be around the three people that are, essentially, the result of all my past sacrifices. Don't get me wrong, the knowledge that my existence as a Paladin means I keep others safe as my charges is a reward in itself, but seeing that what I went through has yielded _three_ supernatural...unicorns -for lack of a better term- is a unique experience all its own," she admitted, unable to keep the slight 'awe' from her voice.

At the mention of being hit on, her expression changed to one of faux confusion. "Oh, is _that_ what you were doing? I wasn't really sure what that was all about, been a minute since I've gotten to socialize. I just thought modern people were _overtly_ friendly in general," she teased, before her expression grew serious again, though a soft smile was still in place. "Take all the time you need. I know that _I_ am certainly taking it one day at a time. However," Rikke paused, ensuring she had the woman's attention, "I would like to ask -and I also think it might help your dilemma- that you please not just reduce me to 'a friend's ancestor'. I _am_ here. I am alive and I do have a personality of my own, not one that's been ascribed to me by whoever's reading about my life," she chuckled. "I'm related to Lucas and the girls, yes, but I'm also just Rikke."

PHOENIX

"I'm glad you think so because it's going to be you, me and Teg keeping an eye on her." She smiled, "Everyone was blown away when we learned that the unicorn twins were *literally* luke's kids. We were all wondering where half their traits came from because they for sure did not come from Dicky." She snorted. They always joked about it, so to think that it was true - that was a feat on its own.

Phoenix, being far from the confident dancer she was at the club, met the Paladin's eyes with a hint of bashfulness along with the lingering embarrassment. "Yes... I can do that. I *will* do that." It did feel like an insult to refer to Rikke as Luke's ancestor and already, Nix felt guilty for thinking so in the first place. ".. To start off with though, do you want to continue with the cabin tour? Or do you want to rest for the night?"

RIKKE

"Something tells me, for at least Teagan and I, it'll be _her_ keeping _both eyes_ on _us_." There was a cross between a grimace and a smile that followed those words, but the chuckle that came with it was genuine enough. Taking a deep breath, the mirth seeped out of her at the mention of Richard Benson. "I can't say I ever had the displeasure of meeting that man, but after what I had to see in the woods when we found Luke..." She trailed off as her jaw clenched tight enough for the tendons in her neck to show. The memory of the redhead's state, the pain in Keagan's eyes as Rikke states there was nothing she could do for the woman... Easing up on her jaw she just said, "Let's just say it's best we never meet."

Rikke had never been one to really push anyone's boundaries, so when the witch went bashful, the paladin took that as her sign to ease up on the teasing. Instead she just smiled and said, "All a girl can ask for is the effort." She thought about the question briefly before saying, "Cabin tour, please. If I'm going to be orbing Lyra from one place to another or orbing myself to get to her or others, it would definitely be nice _not_ to end up in a wall...?"

PHOENIX

"Oh that is a given, Lyra has eyes on *everyone*. Aunt Ianthe had always said that she would've made a great agent.. if only her motivation wasn't simply *gossip*." Her eyes rolled before her expression completely falling to a grimace, "You're better off not ever having to, not missing much anyways. I think I can say on behalf of everything that we're glad that he's gone from our lives." Not that Phoenix was around him all that often compared to everyone else.

At the answer, Nix lifts the barrier she threw up temporarily. "Sure, we can go floor by floo-ow!" From her attempt to find the door knob behind her, her elbow smacked right into it. The witch stilled with her eyes closed at the numbing pain, "Just.. give me a sec.. but as I was going to say, we can go floor by floor - the basement might have to wait until tomorrow, it's where the girls live, but right now, it's just Erin because.. well, *babies*. Anyways, this hallways is mostly guest rooms.. So far, it's just you, me and Lyra here."

Once the rambling was done, and Nix got her shit together, they stepped out of the room and the witch guided the other to most of the rooms on each floor, pausing long enough for Rikke to have a grasp on what they are before moving on to the next. By the end of the tour, they were now by the stairs. "Et voila, chez .. Calvetti/Benson/Holstein. And questions?"

RIKKE

"Yeah, not what I meant and you know it. A Paladin's senses are just as heightened as any other super with the same ability, so her little psuedo-rubdown did not go entirely unnoticed," Rikke pointed out. "Though, now I know who to go to when I need information...wonder what stories she'd be willing to share about you guys growing up." She would never go through with the implied threat, of course. Rikke would learn about Phoenix only what Phoenix wanted to share _herself_. Taking another deep breath she just said, "No use wasting time and breath over something useless."

Rikke had already moved closer towards the door, with the implication being that they would be exiting. However at the woman's cry of pain, her attention was immediately drawn over to where she held her elbow. As the woman continued to ramble on -likely to distract herself from the pain- Rikke was able to move her hand and see a sizable lump beginning to form. Without a word, she simply held her open hand over the area and allowed a her healing power to do the rest. The golden light that emanated from her hand fell over the entire afflicted area and the lump was gone in no time. "It's probably going to feel a little warm and tingly for a bit, but it should be all good now."

As they ended the tour, Rikke had to admit that there was still _so_ much about modern-day technology that she still had yet to get a grasp on, and it wasn't just the electronics aspect. She was massively impressed with the shower in the guest bathroom. Hot water had been quite the commodity in _her_ childhood... "Yeah, does this place come with a map?" she joked.

PHOENIX

"Lyra.. is not one for subtlety." Phoenix snorted at the thought that Lyra would attempt to *hide* anything she does. No, her cousin was loud, if anything. "We've always thought that Lyra should come with a warning sign because she absorbs information like a sponge.. and will also let the world know. On the other hand, if you're trying to dig up stories about me, I usually visit during summer break so there might not be as many stuff about me."

Although it was healed already, Phoenix still had her hand over the spot because.. the tingly feeling Rikke warned was there and it felt.. strange. She wondered how it'd feel for a Paladin to heal a major wound. It was one thing to watch her cousins have faster healing abilities, it's another to just to have the pain disappear just like that.

"We'll have to ask Erin or Tomi to draw one up. Last I heard, the sketches that Luke and the twins provide them are.. chicken scratch. It seems that drawing is one of the skills they didn't perfect." She joked, "Not to mention, the floor plan might change again when the kids are back to normal. Who knows? They're constantly renovating something." She paused, "If you do happen to visit the basement, it's going to feel like an entire separate house, so I guess.. brace yourself?" Now that the tour was over with, and they sorta talked things out, Phoenix didn't feel the need to escape at the first chance possible.

RIKKE

"I never would've guessed," she said flatly. "She usually so reserved," she said with a grin that belied the sarcasm. "A very _selective_ sponge, maybe. I think I've lost count of how many times different people have told her to stop hitting on Luke in front of Keagan." Rikke let out a light laugh and said, "Trust me, if I wanted any 'dirt' on you or anything, I'd have already gotten it. You're sacred Cousin Summers are safe unless you decide to regale me with those tales on your own."

Rikke chuckled at the slight dig at the girls' artistic skills. "Well, considering they have both a music room that is for instruments -of all kinds- and a music room that is for recording music, I would venture to say that their artistic skills just went in a different direction is all." At the mention of approaching the basement, Rikke just shook her head and said, "I...don't really think I'll be going anywhere near the basement unless there's an emergency. With all three girls being my charges, I can keep their emotions out of my own head as with any other when it's one-on-one, but when all three together, _that_ becomes a quite a bit harder. And to answer the question I'm sure is to follow, no actually, it has not gotten easier with two of them being babies."

Having noted that Phoenix had kept hold of her elbow throughout the entire time she was showing off the cabin, Rikke gingerly placed a hand of her own on the other exposed side of the elbow. "Is everything alright?" she asked, concern lacing her voice and taking over her face. "Did the healing not take or did I miss another injury?"

PHOENIX

"She finds it fun to tempt fate where Keagan's involved." Lyra had done many things that Nix would never dare to do. One could not begin to know what is going on in her mind and Nix was just glad there was only one of Lyra since it took three people to keep her at bay. "Fair, I suppose I could give them *some* slack. They did make a career out of it, and from what I remember, they *all* know how to play more than one or two instruments." Apart from all the jokes, Phoenix was pretty impressed with how Luke and the kids got that media gig going. They even got a tour out of it and all. "Well, if there's a good time, it might just to take a look when it's only Erin down there. Sky's upstairs and Tomi's with the Izzy and Brax."

Arching her arm a bit, she looked down at the spot where the bruise would have been before shaking her head. "Oh no, it's - it healed, see? It's all gone. Since I'm more witch than wolf, I'm not used to my own wounds to go away so quickly. Even if I try to use magic to heal it, it's not quite the same, and like you said, there's this tingly sensation." She dropped her arm, "This whole instant healing thing is sure handy."

RIKKE

"Is it really tempting fate, though, if we all pretty much know that the worse Keagan is going to do is just send her back home? If anything, I'd be more concerned about what Luke might do if she oversteps, but even then they've known each other so long I can't see the kid doing anything that _permanently_ harm the wolf." She was careful in her word choice, because there was zero doubt in her mind that if pushed far enough, Luke would not hesitate to toss Lyra over one of the landing railings... "It's apparently the direction the kids wanted to go, so Luke found a way to help them do it. I'm still new to fold, but from what I can tell, Lucas has been a parent to the girls even before she knew they were biologically hers." At the suggestion of checking the basement out while Erin was alone, Rikke just shook her head, blonde mop swaying to and fro in the process. "Nope. Rather leave them their sacred space."

Her focus now on the arm, Rikke's brows furrowed slightly as she still went ahead and gave it another once over. "Well, injuries aren't necessarily cut and dry -no pun intended- so just because the bruising on the surface is gone, it doesn't mean everything is fine...." Satisfied that the healing had worked, she added, "Though I suppose that'll be something to keep in your back pocket in case a door decides to attack you again." At the mention of the tingling she lifted up the elbow a little and proceeded to wrap both of her hands around it, applying some pressure. "The tingling is kind of similar to when your foot goes numb, a little pressure will make it feel weirder at first but, eventually it makes it pass by faster. Usually, the more times the person is healed the less awkward it feels, but if we get to _that_ point, then either it means we have a very accident-prone charge or we just suck at our job."

PHOENIX

"Hmm, and being sent to Aunt Ianthe is the last thing she wants." She shrugged, "Maybe she'll remember that she's a wolf if she manages to cross the line with Luke - that hadn't happen yet. I'm kidding. As long as Lyra doesn't do something that would put the twins in harm's way, I think she's safe?" As annoying as Lyra was, Nix hadn't seen her upset Keagan enough to have the older Calvetti retaliate. "Yeah, Luke's been taking care of the twins as if they were their own since day 1 - There's a *very* low chance of that changing now that we know for sure she is the mom - other mom. "

Phoenix allowed the Paladin to thoroughly inspect her arm to her heart's content. Her eyes focusing on her arm, then up to meet Rikke's eyes once she started explaining about the tingle. "I hope this isn't a way to curse me to be injured more often just so you could heal me." She laughed before giving a shrug, "I should make sure that I don't get injured around you, or you'll start thinking I'm very accident-prone. My elbow hitting the door knob clearly isn't doing me any favours."

RIKKE

"Only because it would keep her away from her main source of gossip, because let's face it, your aunt isn't going to do much more than Keagan," she said with slight snort of laughter. Honestly, anyone in the family retaliating against Lyra in earnest was a joke. "Now that you say that, I think I should keep a closer eye on Lucas for a while. She hasn't been through a full moon since her powers were triggered, but she's also not the kind of person to wait around and have something just happen when they can try and 'investigate' on their own." Rikke looked a little confused for a second before saying, "They need to figure out nomenclature, because mom and mom is going to get old fast."

Rikke laughed at the 'accusation' and began to ease off her elbow as said, "Trust me, a 'synthetic' Paladin's ability with magic is very basic. Such a curse would be well beyond me, and honestly the cursing I do involves certain words that can't be said in household with babies." As she eased her arm back down, Rikke just gave a small shrug and said, "Lucas and Miles are exceedingly accident prone, and they're still impressive in their own right. I don't see a few bumps and bruises here and there taking anything away from you."

PHOENIX

"Well, if she's away from the gossip, that's good enough for most of us." She chuckled as well at that. "Please, keep an eye on her. God knows what would happen if something happens happen to her. The least we could do is prevent Keg from murdering the hospital staff." As if it wasn't already proof enough during recent events. "She's already talking about going parkouring with babies.. I think that's a pretty fair judgement." She also paused to think about the name conventions, "That .. is something they need to figure out - we.. have the advantage of just calling them by their names."

"Who knows, maybe it's another surprise for all of us - Magic curses are a lot more trouble than they're worth. At least in my opinion. Clearly there were a few individuals who had a different sentiment about them." She said deadpanned. "With what they're up to, I can see why I wouldn't have them beat.. Maybe that's also another reason to keep an eye on them even past the full moon."

RIKKE

"Fair one," she eagerly agreed. "Oh, I would hate to have to find. I'm beginning to regret having shared the fact that our family were wolves, but on the other hand with how magic has been lately -like in general- and also the fact we still don't technically know all of what those three can do, it's better to avoid possible surprises. Which reminds me, I don't know if you were able to tell or not since you had Miles and both babies were asleep anyway, but they have actually retained their powers. So, seeing as you, Erin, and especially Teagan don't have wolf abilities, just be careful of any projectiles and avoid them biting you at all cost. I know the idea of keeping wolfsbane in a house full of wolves sounds like asking Supergirl to hold our kryptonite, but I think you might want to keep a stash in case of emergencies."

Rikke went quiet for bit, feeling that synth Paladins were the result of a magical curse all its own. She did manage to nod in agreement, because after all, she felt she'd know. When it became obvious that either her words had gone over Phoenix's head or she'd opted to ignore them altogether, she simply laughed at the suggestion and said, "Well, they are my charges after all, so that won't be too hard." Letting out a breath she said, "I think we should probably join everyone else and head to bed. Something tells me this baby adventure is only going to grow more chaotic."

PHOENIX

"Knowing Luke.. it wouldn't be too surprising to find her testing out just what is it she can do as a Paladin before letting the twins in on the experiment." Her nose wrinkled, " A third of the reason why Keagan's stressed is because of Lyra, another third is Luke and the remaining is the twins combined. Just all sort of chaos with the four of them." She joked before nodding at the warning. "We'll give them all the toys to bite on so they don't bite us." Her lips went into a line when wolfsbane was suggested, "I .. will think about it - I'd rather not put my nieces or anyone else in danger by having it around. Although - would my wolf side trigger if I do get bitten? I am related after all."

Phoenix should really head to bed herself, but her feet did not budge. "As if everything else in this household isn't chaotic enough already? I'm sharing a room with The Hurrnado, in case you've forgotten." She grinned, "Okay.. I'll see you tomorrow then." Only then did she finally start moving *slowly* towards the direction of her room.

#fallcrest:event997 #event007.3.1BBV #fallcrest:plotdrop #plot drop 7

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waterdeep · 3 years

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STARDEW VALLEY GIFS ➸ [2/?]

#stardewedit #gamingedit #gamediting #stardew valley #dailyvideogames #m*#m*gaming #m*sv #video games #vg: stardew valley #alistairs #useravallachs #userminthara #userharps #bllvkbird #userwolfkissed #gonna queue a heap of these up #m*1k

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shaechans · 3 years

Text

dream! reaction

group: nct dream (ot7)

desc: someone flirting with their s/o!

genre: fluff and angst?????

word count: 1.1k

a/n: lmao lmao i remember writing this last year and drafted it cause it was too cringy puke but now i have gained a tiny bit of confidence and let’s see maybe i might be able to post some more in the future!! y’all can request. also, this is pretty short but i hope y’all like it anyway<33 also random gifs sooooo yay! also also i have so much to say im so sorry i tried to make this as gender neutral as possible so please let me know if i need to change something, i would like everyone to enjoy!!

lee mark

usually, in your relationship, mark is pretty mature (which means you be wildin and he's always there to control your ass). that also means that he's real protective of you and is basically a second mom to you. so when he saw that dude actually picking up guts to talk to you while he was literally standing next to you in the mcdonalds queue, oh was he pissed! although, he would try to keep his chill, which did not exactly work by the way you would end up trying to calm him down. he would start by sending off cold and sharp glares at the dude while wrapping a protective arm round your waist, completely violating his pda rule. with mark's stares striking his soul, the guy was soon gone, with which mark heaved out a relieved sigh.

“babe you need to stop being so pretty. it's not helping me in anyway!”

huang renjun

this boy is already damn whipped for you, even if he acts all annoyed and shit, that's all the loving he's giving (so you better fucking accept or there's gonna be a gun to your head). when he first saw that dude acting up all over you and flirty he would activate his over protective switch and turn all manly and serious. renjun pure baby boy lasted long anyway. as soon as he walked over to the very uncomfortable you, he'd make sure the boy fled taking in his cool and broad shoulder exterior. after the guy wasn't in his sight anymore, renjun would mutter a few curse words, only heard by you and wrap you in his arms, making sure to have you pampered by him and never letting you leave his line of sight.

“thatʼs right, you better make a move before my gangster shoulders do.”

lee jeno

BABY BABY BABBY BABY-

being already very vEry over protective boyfriend he is, the guy flirting with you better think twice. jeno absolutely hates when he sees you talking to a someone that is a not him. you better damn expect him to be pretty much raging when he saw this one dude's hand on your leg while you were seated next to some fountain waiting for jeno's arrival. without wasting a second, he would rush over and stand behind the guy, fumes very evidently leaving his ear holes. ʻiʼm sorry but who do you think you are touching her like that?ʼ he would start to question, startling the guy in front of him. when he saw you heave a huge sigh of relief and rush to his side, he would feel so guilty for not reaching there sooner and grabbing the jerk by his shoulders, he would shove him away. after he calming down a little, he would pull you into a hug and never leave your touch for the rest of the year.

“oh my god baby i'm so sorry for leaving you here alone with that asshole.”

lee donghyuck

now this boy is already super cocky and shit so you'd expect him to take this whole situation as a joke. but hell no you nasties. hyuck's much more than just a jokester. he's a great boyfriend and so if he ever witnessed a scene like this, it'd make him feel quite disappointed with himself, saying that he's never there for you and stuff like that. anyway, seeing you trapped in a somewhat alley that your house stood on, almost at a dead end, a disgusting man trying to have you appealed by him, he would never just stand there shocked. donghyuck would probably do the unexpected and punch him square in the face. rethinking the situation you got into, a few tears would appear at his eyes while you pulled him into a hug, comforting him.

“no one else is allowed to touch you or i will so not spare them!”

na jaemin

jaemin's already super head over heels for you that you cannot count the number of heart eyes he gives you. so when he saw to have a ʻconversationʼ with a dude not him, you'd expect him to feel really sad and upset. at first he thought he was a close friend that you were happily catching up when he took in the look on the guy's face. although when his eyes flickered toward your quite uncomfortable expression, he would make his move as to save you from the discomfort. marching over to where you stood, he would wrap both his arms around your waist, placing a quick kiss to your cheek, looking up at the guy asking

“so what were y'all talking about babe?”

zhong chenle

chenle is that boyfriend who is always super delighted at your presence and again, super whipped for you. he may not be the person to step up or initiate stuff but if it's for you then consider it done and there's a very limited amount of stuff you can deny coming from him. so when chenle had come with the idea of stepping out of the house for a small walk, you could never ever deny (and don't you dare!). so while walking, chenle decides to get ice cream and leaves you by yourself on a bench, when some boy around your age shows up with his dog and bad flirting skills. while so intrigued by the little poodle, you hardly payed attention to the guy so when chenle showed up all angry, to say that you were puzzled would be an understatement. not able to say much before the boy got dragged away by his pup, chenle was quite relieved he didn't have to test his muscles. although, he still wanted to let you know that he would risk it all for you, even his five minute work out energy.

“i'm so sorry for dragging you here only to be flirted with some dog man, ugh! here's some ice cream though<33”

park jisung

jisung is that boyfriend who seems to be pretty shy and embarrassed by literally everything you do (damn it y/n). not only that, he may be a little insecure as well as he sees a heap of good looking korean boys his age everyday. afraid to lose someone as precious as you, he would at times join in the weirdness with you like how chenle taught him. anyway, despite his insecurity being at peak lately this random dude from your class decides to ruin everything and bring his levels to a max. whilst flirting, jisung would overhear the conversation thinking that you would flirt actually back. this suddenly him and he would distance himself from you. so you were surprised to not find jisung and when you eventually did, he was crying (poor baby). so of course you comforted him saying that you loved him only and there was no way you were flirting back there with stupid han gongjoo.

“so you still like me?”

#nct #fluff #nct fluff #mark #mark fluff #renjun #renjun fluff #jeno #jeno fluff #haechan #haechan fluff #jaemin #jaemin fluff #chenle #chenle fluff #jisung #jisung fluff #mine #nct reactions

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themoontaxi · 2 years

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hellooo, i must say this is one fine café establishment you have here :) i’m feeling very hungry today but i usually like to portion my daily carb intake, so we’re gonna start off with some counter treats first and then work our way up if that’s cool with you! (i tip very well)

may i plz start off with a cupcake, as well as a fortune cookie and bubble tea (hold the boba)

🥠 - nothing in my head by richie quake

🧋 - twenty one pilots (it’s not that i don’t like them, i just don’t really listen to them anymore for a couple of reasons)

hellooo back at you harley. stop it, you’re making me blush 🥰 hate to tell you, but i think i kinda interfered with your plans of portioning your carbs…

first off, sorry for the hold up - even the counter had quite the queue. you’re getting an extra large cupcake in compensation (and bc i was unable to decide on only 3 🙃)

but first regarding your 🥠: i absolutely adored this song! it immediately went into my vibing in orbit playlist. i could very much relate to the feeling of sitting alone in the dark, head empty and wondering what to do with oneself…

so, a little bird may or may not have told me that you were a bit unsure if you even hit the send button (i swear it was like telepathy, i was just asking her what kinda music you like) - so here’s your confirmation that you did 😌 and through said little bird’s spotify i may or may not have also found your profile and scrolled a bit through your playlists. after coming to the conclusion that you not only have formidable taste, but are open to all kinds of genres as well, i opened my (absolute) favorites and selected the ones that reminded me of your posts, blog aesthetic, vibe, or the few things i know about you thanks to birdy. ‘course i had to take some chances with them, but i’m hoping nevertheless that you find some that you enjoy. i also noticed that we share a love for a lot of artists, so i tried to refrain myself from putting heaps of those here. and bc it’s kinda a wild mix, i put the songs in an order that hopefully won’t give you whiplash. alright, imma shut up now and let you indulge in your 🧁

as for the 🧋: yess, something i can talk about! i seriously couldn’t agree more. i too was a huge fan once - went to one of their concerts (it was great!) and even wrote a term paper on analyzing conceptual metaphors in their lyrics. that was like two years ago now. after that i kinda just stopped listening and can’t even really say why. but anyway, here are some reasons why you may have stopped listening as well:

- their last album was underwhelming, let’s be honest. i listened to it once when it came out and never came back to it. not that it was particularly bad, just not even close to as captivating as their previous stuff. and with saturday i was questioning if i was still listening to the same band - no idea why that song even exists.

- too high expectations. vessel especially for me was such a masterpiece, that i seriously doubt anything they put out in the future can top that.

- you don’t have to believe the hype when there’s none. their last album was barely talked about or played on the radio (as far as i know), so it was a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’.

- their ‘better late than never’ response to blm. if i remember correctly, tyler tweeted sth about being free to decide on what social issues he wants to comment on, and when he’d rather not say anything (which i honestly don’t fault him for). and he did so in cracking some joke that i can’t remember anymore. but anyway, a lot of people were upset about it and begged him to delete the tweet or at least give a statement now, but that took him such a long time, that there were a lot of fans in the comments expressing their disappointment and saying they’d written them off.

- growing out of it. you listened to them a lot in another chapter of your life, and are trying to move onto the next one. you changed and don’t want to fall into old patterns you might associate with sth that belongs to the past.

alrighty, hope you like the playlist. if yes, you can leave that generous tip you mentioned here <3

#lovely people with exquisite music taste <3 #thanks for your order <3 #now imma go to sleep it’s 4 am again -#fortune cookie 🥠#compliment cupcake 🧁#hate to burst your bubble tea 🧋#café lounge #music

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chelseasasimmer · 2 years

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How do you organize your stories so well? I'm still aimless on my new simblr.

I'm gonna answer this publicly, hope that's alright. (Mostly because I suck at giving advice and hopefully someone else will see this and be able to give actual advice :P)

Also, I don't really know if what I post counts as a 'story', since I'm only posting gameplay pics with very minimal editing. But, oh well, I'm gonna try answer anyway.

Firstly, It's fine to feel like you have no idea what you're doing in the beginning (I know I didn't) (Actually, I still don't really know what I'm doing). I'm pretty sure no one knows what they're doing when they first start. Idk, I feel like I've just been figuring out what I'm doing as I'm going along.

In terms of like, actually writing a story... Well, I'm not really. Currently I'm just playing a legacy challenge that someone else wrote. I guess there's a little bit of storytelling involved, since I've gotta, like, make things work with the challenge (i.e. me pretending my sim brought an alien child back from space since the rules for his gen said he had to have an alien child). I'm sorry I can't give too much advice on this. But maybe someone who is a storytelling simblr will see this and give you some actual good advice *hint hint wink wink nudge nudge*.

As far as actually posting goes, at any given moment I've got a crap ton of posts in my queue and I've set my queue to post 4 times a day. Again, my posts are just gameplay screenshots with very, very minimal editing, so it's not too hard for me to edit a heap of them and then queue up posts. Obviously, if your posts are more heavily edited, they're gonna take longer to make so you're not gonna be able to post as frequently as someone whose posts are less heavily edited.

Again, I'm not really a story simblr, so if anyone who actually does have a story that they're posting has any more specific advice as to writing/editing/posting more story-based posts please share.

Yeah, I'm sorry I took so long to answer this. I hope I've said something that even remotely resembles helpful advice, but honestly idk if I have.

Also, please let me know if I didn't actually answer your question the way you wanted me to. :)

#answered #long post #this sounds so generic im sorry i really tried to make this useful #again if anyone else has actual good advice please share

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

Text

Too Loose And You’ll Lose It

Ch7: Old Habits Die Hard

Part 1

Co-Written with @icanfeelastormbrewing

Summary: The Losers head to Mexico for Pooch’s wedding but there’s something wrong with Stella…

Pairing: Jake Jensen x OFC Stella Stevenson

Warnings: Bad language and a whole heap of angst.

A/N: So this chapter is a LONG one- so it’s split into a number of parts, to be posted over the next week or so. A LOT going down, and we really hope you enjoy it as it’s our favourite one to date for these pair of dumbasses.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. We do not own any characters in this series bar Stella Stevenson and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

TLAYLI Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 6

April 2008

Clay, Roque, Cougar and Jake arrived in Mexico on a glorious Thursday morning, two days before Pooch's wedding and wasted no time in settling into their hotel and kicking back with a few drinks, soaking up the sun and taking the chance to relax. Cougar was in his element, being in his native country and an area which he knew particularly well. That evening he took them away from the resort of Cozumel to a little village fifteen miles or so inland where they visited a few back alley bars he knew, meeting up with a couple of his friends. The Losers then found themselves roped into several games of poker, all of them losing a fairly substantial amount of money until Clay, rather sensibly, called time on the gambling to avoid Future Mrs Pooch going thermonuclear at them for gambling away any future Mini Pooches’ inheritance money. They somehow made it back to the hotel and managed to deliver Pooch safely to his intended. The man could hardly stand by the time they got back thanks to the copious amount of Tequila he had consumed, something Clay, Roque and Jensen were quick to blame on Cougar when an irate Jolene opened the door to their suite, a furious look on her face.

As it stood, the hangovers they were all suffering on Friday morning were clearly their penance for leading Pooch astray. Jake had woken up with a mouth like he had been eating sand, and had stood in a cold shower for fifteen minutes solid trying to find it in him to function like a normal human being. He headed down for breakfast ten minutes before the hotel was due to stop serving and spotted Clay, Cougar and Roque sat at a table on the outside balcony, all sporting sunglasses and looking as bad as he felt. Jensen helped himself to as much as his plate could handle from the buffet and tucked in. He was beyond thankful that the food went someway to actually settling his churning stomach as opposed to making it worse. As he downed his fourth orange juice of the morning, he felt his mobile buzzing in his pocket and he pulled it out, his lips quirking into a smile as he read the message.

"It's Stel." He announced to the table. "She says ETA about forty minutes."

"How come she isn't here already?" Roque asked and Jensen rolled his eyes.

"Agent Shit-name was working, apparently. Meant they could only fly out early this morning." He swallowed the bite of toast he had rather viciously taken at the thought of Stel’s asshat boyfriend.

"Touchy subject." Clay looked at Roque. "Pooch is still low-key pissed she missed his Batchelor party."

Roque said nothing, simply raised his eyebrows as Jensen leaned back in his chair, massaging his now full stomach. "The guy is a dick." He spat venomously.

"Yes, but there's gonna be no trouble." Cougar turned to him, tipping his hat up slightly so he could see him.

"I'm a lover, not a fighter, Cougs." Jensen grinned and Cougar gave a snort, shaking his head.

They finished breakfast and after several more coffees were eventually ushered out of the restaurant by a very harassed looking waiter. As they wandered back through the hotel lobby, Clay stopped and waved, causing Jensen to turn and look, a smile spreading across his face as he saw Stella walking through the door pulling her suitcase. He frowned at the fact asshole wasn’t carrying it for her, but as Stella approached them he realised that Evan was nowhere to be found.

“Where’s agent Shit-Name?” He blurted out by way of greeting, and Stella responded with a filthy glare, otherwise ignoring him completely. She turned instead to greet Roque and Cougar before she gave Clay a huge hug.

“Good flight, Arty?” Roque asked and she smiled at him, popping a shoulder.

“As good as it gets. But they didn’t have tomato juice. Would you believe it?”

Clay gave a huge laugh. “Since when have you drunk that stuff?”

“It’s not that bad, plus if you drink alcohol on a plane you get severe dehydration.” She replied.

“You’re making that up.” Jake looked at her and she turned her attention to him, giving him an appraising look.

“I read it in Science.” She quipped back. Jake blinked, before he burst out laughing and she grinned and shook her head. “I’m just joking. I had several gin and tonics and glass of wine. I’m good.”

Roque looked at Clay. “What just happened?”

“They do this.” Clay answered. “Have you not noticed yet?”

Roque rolled his eyes and then Cougar asked the question that all of them had been dying to know the answer to. “Where’s Evan?”

Well, all bar Jake that is as he couldn’t have cared less.

Stella shifted a little, rubbing her neck, Jake instantly spotting her discomfort. “He errr, he couldn’t make it.”

“He bailed on you?” Roque frowned at the same time Clay blurted out.

“What do you mean he couldn’t make it?”

Stella licked her lips and at that point Jensen jumped in. He could see her flustered and despite his dislike of her boyfriend, he hated seeing her like that so he offered her a way out. “Work?”

She nodded, shooting him a thankful look. “Yeah, something came up.”

“Of course it came up.” Clay grumbled loudly. Whether he had meant for Stella to hear or not, hear she did. And what was more, it was apparent he didn’t believe Evan’s excuse any more than she did. Stella swallowed, she had always trusted Clay’s judgement and it was unnerving a little to realise exactly what he thought.

She took a deep breath. “I’m gonna go check in.” As she reached for her bag, a hand softly batted hers away as Jensen grabbed the handle.

“I got it.”

As soon as the two of them were out of earshot, Cougar turned to Clay as Roque shook his head

“Bastard.” Clay spat. “He’s not come and left her to pick up the flack and explain to Pooch.”

Cougs mumbled a swear word in Spanish as Clay’s eyes flicked to Stella and Jake before he pulled out his phone.

“’m gonna make some calls. Meet you at the pool bar in a while.”

*****

As they stood in the queue for the reception desk, a bunch of people all having descended to check in at once, Jake turned to Stella and took a deep breath. “Wanna tell me what’s really going on?”

“Nothing is going on, Jake.” Stella’s tone was level but firm, an indication she didn’t want to discuss the topic.

But Jensen never had been one to take heed of warnings. “I don’t believe you.”

“Well, you should.” She turned to face him, raising her brow a little. “Tell me, any Mexican chick fallen at your feet yet?”

He sighed, throwing his head back and giving a low groan. “C’mon, Stel, I thought we were past this?”

“Past what?” Her tone was innocent but Jake could tell she didn’t dare look him in the eye. Instead, she concentrated on searching for something in her purse.

“Holding out on one another.” He answered, looking at her. “You’re still my best friend.”

“Well, forgive me if I sometimes forget.” She rolled her eyes as she produced her credit card.

“Okay okay, you don’t wanna tell me then fine.” Jensen rubbed at his eye before pushing his glasses back up his nose. “Whatever.”

Stella looked at him before she gave a little sigh, and hung her head slightly. “Ev’s busy, okay? Something last minute came up and he...”

“Let me guess.” Jake rolled his eyes. “He asked you not to come without him and when you told him to fuck off you had an argument.”

“No, actually.” Stella fixed him with a glare, narrowing her eyes “He told me to come. It’s nothing like that at all.”

“Stel...”

“Jake, just drop it okay!” Her voice grew louder. “You couldn’t be further away from the truth if you tried.”

Jensen raised his hands in surrender, knowing it was time to drop the subject. “All right, all right. I really don’t wanna know.”

Before she could shoot back a response, she was called forward to the desk. Jake moved off to the side with her bag, watching her as she spoke to the guy behind the counter.

His hands dropped to his slim hips as he studied her, wracking his brains. Despite her protestations there was obviously something more going on, he knew her too well. The only thing he could think of was that for some reason they’d had an argument, a big enough one for Agent Shit-Name to leave her to come on her own. And, considering Jake knew he had told Stella to stay away from him, it must have been pretty serious for him to say he wasn’t coming.

As Jake watched Stella signing her name on the paper the guy behind the desk slid over to her, he saw her give a little smile before she tucked her hair behind her ear. He took a deep breath, shaking himself out of his thoughts and decided that he was going to make her forget about Asshole for a couple of days and enjoy herself. Being the Stel he’d always known and adored.

She nodded and said something to the receptionist before she turned towards Jake, heading over to him and he smiled. “All sorted?”

“Yeah I’m on the 4th floor

“Hey, cool! Same as me and Cougs.”

“Are you guys sharing?” She asked and he shook his head, giving a snort.

“Hell no. The Cougar is on the prowl, apparently. He’s a couple of rooms down.”

“Well I’m in 415.”

“422, Sweetheart.”

“Good to know in case I’m attacked by a spider in the middle of the night.” She grinned and Jake chuckled.

“Well, if you want I’ll do a sweep before you go in.” He looked at her seriously. “I am a highly trained killing machine after all.”

“So am I.”

“Yeah but I ain’t afraid of spiders... well, okay, not the little ones that is.”

Stella laughed. “Course not. But, that aside, I could use your help with my suitcase.”

“You don’t need to ask.” He said gently, picking it up. “I was already gonna bring it.”

She smiled and they made their way to the elevator which by some twist of luck was already on their floor. The door opens and they stepped inside, Stella turning to select their floor.

“Alright, I gotta ask.” Jake spoke and Stella turned to him as he gestured to the large case now by his feet. “You’re here for what, three nights? You bring your whole wardrobe, Stelly?”

She scoffed “I need all three nights’ outfits and daytime clothes as well. Toiletries, make up, underwear...bikinis.” At the last word she shot him a wink and Jake’s head dropped forward, his hands on his hips.

“Stop it.” He groaned playfully and she laughed.

“You don’t wanna hit the pool then, Jakey?”

“Is this a trick question?”

“Why would it be?”

“Well this feels like the part where I’m supposed to make some rude comment only I’m not sure if you’ll laugh or slap me.”

“You’d never know if you don’t say it.”

Jake looked at her, he was utterly confused now and hadn’t got a clue what was going on. He licked his lips, swallowed before he sighed and rubbed his beard. Thankfully, he was saved from responding at all as the elevator stopped, the doors sliding open as they’d reached their floor.

****

Once the slightly awkward but friendly first time introductions to the rest of the guests that the boys had met the day before, Stell felt herself really beginning to relax. She had been on edge since arriving if truth be told, not least because her friends had hit the nail on the head, there was something going on with Evan. But, she didn't want to think about it. Not now. Instead, she settled herself on a sun-lounger, peeling off her little sun-dress to reveal a yellow bikini and Jake flopped onto the one besides her, whipping off his white wife-beater. They talked and laughed and joked. It felt good, just kicking back, not a care in the world. Soft, holiday themed music was playing, the atmosphere was happy, and Stella had a constant supply of cocktails thanks to the team persistently plying her with them.

She must have fallen asleep at one point, as when she turned Jake wasn't there, but it didn't take her long to find him, his distinctive laugh ringing out over the pool area. Stella led back in the sun, glasses covering her face, no one able to see her eyes as she watched him sat on the edge of the pool, one of the bridesmaids next to him, their legs dangling in the water. His broad shoulders and back muscles twitched as he talked with his hands, as usual, emphasising whatever it was he was saying, one large arm reaching up to brush through his short hair. The girl laughed and tipped her head back and Jake grinned before he said something else and stood up. Stella shifted a little as he headed towards her.

"Stel, you want another drink?"

She pulled her glasses down, and peered over them as she smiled up at him. "No, I'm fine JJ thanks."

"Cool, just, you know, ask me if you need anything."

"I’ll be fine Jake." She insisted. "Just enjoy yourself or... whatever."

He gave her a little smile before he turned and walked away. Stella watched him go, and it didn't escape her just how many heads turned in his direction. She took a deep breath then suddenly a shadow blocked her sun. She looked up to see Cougar stood beside her, hands on his hips, bright blue swim shorts and a plain grey tank covering his toned upper body.

"Enjoying the views, Arty?"

She rolled her eyes, then smirked at him as she spotted his ever present headwear. "Even round the pool you’re wearing the hat?" She sat up slightly, nodding towards it.

"Well it keeps the top of my head cool and shelters my eyes from the sun." He shrugged. "And helps maintain my youthful complexion."

"You gonna be wearing it for the wedding?" She grinned as he perched on the lounger next to her, before he led back over the top of Jake's towel, swinging his legs up to recline a little.

"Of course I am." He looked at her like she'd asked a dumbass question. "I’m making a fashion statement, Honey!"

At that she laughed. "Well, I look forward to seeing that!"

"I'll save you a front row seat!"

As the two of them continued to chat, over at a table a little further round the pool, Roque and Clay were sat deep in conversation. Pooch made his way over, flopping down heavily into a seat, shades covering his eyes.

“All right, so someone wanna tell me what happened to Shit-Name?” There was no disguising the bitterness in his tone. He was still pissed over the whole stag-do incident as Stella hadn’t gone, and the blame for that lay firmly at Evan’s feet. “Not that I care, in fact I’m glad not having to see him around but-“ he nodded to Stella “-well I don’t like her being upset.”

Clay took a deep breath and blew it out harshly. “So, I made some calls. Pulled some strings and…”

“What?” Roque took a pull from his beer and turned towards the Colonel. Clay simply shook his head and Roque rolled his eyes. “Spit it out, Clay.”

“The guy is not on duty this whole week.” Clay looked at him, and then to Pooch who pulled a face.

“The whole week? I thought she was flying in today because he had some work to finish before taking a couple of days off?”

“So did I.” Clay shrugged.

“So what? He’s been lying to stop her coming for more than absolutely necessary?” Roque frowned. “That is fucked up, Clay.”

“I don’t get it though.” Pooch shook his head, a puzzled expression on his face. “Why is he not here? If he’s so hell bent on keeping her away from us, well, specifically Jensen, why the fuck has he let her come on her own?”

“I don’t know.” Clay looked over at Stella before turning back. “But I don’t like it.”

“Don’t like what?”

The three of them turned to see Jensen stood by their table, pushing his shades up his nose a little.

“Your swimming trunks.” Roque was quick to quip. “Pink? Really?”

Jensen grinned “Gracie got me these! Special present for being her coolest Uncle.”

“Yeah, you see she’s six, Jensen.” Clay grinned, taking a drink of his beer. “Her taste is debatable.”

At that Pooch snorted. “And besides, man, you’re her only Uncle! Not like she has anyone else to compare you to.”

“Oh yeah?” Jensen shot Pooch a look. “Fine, watch this.” He cleared his throat and looked over the pool area towards Stella. “Yo, Stel!” She glanced at him from where she was sat with Cougar and gestured with her head for him to continue speaking. “What you think of my shorts?” He gave a grin, twirling on the spot with his hands out to his side.

Stella arched a brow as she pulled down her glasses and looked over the top of them at him. “I’ve seen you in worse.” She called before she turned back to Cougar, a slight smile on her face.

Jake grinned and looked back at the men round the table, pointing in her direction. “See, that’s a compliment.”

“Yeah, by worse she means naked.” Pooch snorted. Roque and Clay both burst out laughing and the three of them clinked their beer bottles together.

“You can all laugh but let’s face it, none of you could pull off this colour.” Jake sniffed.

“Who says you’re pulling it off, Jensen?” Clay arched his eyebrow.

“Well, he’s gonna need to as no one else is gonna pull em off for him.” Roque sniggered.

“Well, actually, Jolene’s cousins have already asked if he was free.” Pooch raised an eyebrow.

“They blind?” Roque shot back as Jensen grinned, ignoring him.

“Really? Which ones?”

“You were sitting with one of them earlier.” Pooch informed him.

“Oh, the red headed chick?” Jensen glanced around, and his eyes once more fell on Stella who was now sat up, turned towards Cougar as they talked about something. He took a deep breath. “Yeah, she’s not really my type. In a bit fellas.” With that he slapped Pooch on the head and wandered over to join Cougar and Stella.

“We cannot tell him about Evan.” Roque stated as Jensen sat down on the sun lounger next to Stella, leaning back a little on his hands.

“Nope." Clay agreed.

“Absolutely not.” Pooch affirmed with a serious nod.

*****

Stella was in her room’s bathroom, leaning over the counter to check her mascara hadn’t left any unwelcome blotch around her eyelashes when there was a loud knock on the door followed by the two softer ones that, ever since they met all those years ago, announced Jake Jensen’s presence. She gave a last glance at her appearance on the mirror, adjusting the thin straps of her pale pink dress to her shoulders, before she went to open the door for him.

“Damn, Stel. You look amazing.”

It was all Jake could express when he recovered from the shock of seeing Stella all dolled up for the first time since what seemed like forever. Maybe the last time being when Jane and Rob got married and they were still together and waiting for their military training to be over. She looked stunning in that outfit and he couldn’t fail but to observe it was Stelly all over. Her pale pink dress was covered in delicate lace flowers and flowed down her curves, the deep v neckline doing nothing but highlighting her gorgeous breasts which Jake so damned well knew and had cherished once upon a time.

Fuck, his mouth was dry…

“Thanks JJ.” Stella chimed, making Jake blink and shake his head. “I need a quick minute…”

As she turned to go finish getting ready he followed her in, closing the door behind him.

“Hey, you’re not gonna say anything about my slacks and this fancy waistcoat I’m wearing.” He asked opening his arms for her to take in his appearance which she did when she turned, looking him up and down. She took in his dark blue plaid tweed waistcoat, matching trousers, along with his pale blue and white striped dress shirt and matching tie and she grinned.

“No jacket?”

“Fuck that shit, Stel its too hot out!” He snorted. “I’m gonna boil to death enough tomorrow in my suit.”

Stella laughed, looking him up and down again before she took a deep breath. “You could almost pass as a grown up, Jake.”

He pouted though he was slightly amused at the comment as it clearly meant her brain had also taken her to the last time they both had worn such elegant outfits, as they had been basically babies then.

“Rude, Stel. You used to like this look on me when we were.... ummm.... did you change your perfume?” Jake suddenly asked in an attempt to change topic after almost sliding dangerously down memory lane.

“No it’s the same it’s been for years.” Stella rolled her eyes at him and turned to rummage in her make up bag.

“Yes. Right….” Jensen replied somewhat awkwardly but relieved she was busy with something else. “So Cougs is coming down with us, he’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” She said as she finished putting her lip-gloss on before grabbing her sandals and sitting on her bed. “So like, is there a huge group of us tonight then?”

Jake stood there, his brain having a hard registering Stella’s question, his hands on his trouser pockets as he bounced on the balls of his feet and blushed furiously because, from where he was stood, as Stella was bent over doing her sandals up, he could see right down her dress and the line of her breasts. But when he finally did realise she’d spoken, he swallowed hard and tried to play it as cool as possible.

“I guess pretty much everyone invited who’s here already, it is a rehearsal dinner after all. Hey, did you know Clay’s chick is landing tomorrow morning?”

“Tomorrow morning? Stella frowned. “Cutting it a bit fine, isn’t it?” She asked standing up and readjusting her dress.

“Well, better late than never.” Jake muttered, more to himself than anything but Stella had clearly heard it as she was glaring at him.

“Don’t start.”

“Sorry, my bad.” Jensen raised the palms of his hands in surrender. But before he could continue apologizing there was another knock on the door. “That will be Cougs.” Jake took a hasty retreat as he went to open the door to Cougar who raised an eyebrow on seeing his friend’s flustered expression.

“Don’t look at me like that, Cougar.”

“What the fuck’s wrong with you, Jensen?” Cougar whispered but then his eyes landed on Stella who was coming towards them and looked at Jensen again as he mouthed. “Wow.”

On an impulse Jake dug him in the ribs with his elbow which made Cougar shove him hard on the shoulder in turn just before Stella stopped by their side and looked at them. “What the fuck are you two doing?”

“Playing tag.” Jensen blurted out.

Stella narrowed her eyes at him just as Cougar looked at him wondering what the fuck Jensen was dragging him into. Jensen gave him a look and Cougar rolled his eyes.

“I told him he’s buying the first round tonight and the jerk said he wouldn’t.” He turned to Stella, trying not to sound too eager or false.

Stella shrugged. “What else is new?”

“Hey, I’m not paying ‘cause it’s a free bar. All the rounds are on Pooch and future Mrs Pooch.” Jensen nodded lightly at Coug, rolling with it.

Stella grinned as they step out of the room and she shut the door. “Well boys, ” she linked her arms into theirs as they were at either side of her, “in that case let’s see how drunk we can go get for free.”

Jakey and Cougar both cheered loudly at the idea and she laughed heartily.

“And you’re walking into the party escorted by two of the most eligible bachelors in this resort, Sweetheart.” Jensen added cheekily.

“Yeah?” She asked as she called the lift and Jensen saw her eyes shine with mischief before speaking again. “You taking me to meet them? Are they downstairs?”

Cougar snorted but Jake wasn’t gonna let it die there. That was the playful Stella he so adored, his Stelly. They could go on at this type of banter for hours if they were in the mood.

“Face facts, I am desirable as Pooch told me before. Bridesmaids already asking for my number. How many asked for your number, Cougs?”

Cougar just smirked and tip the brim of his hat. “They only need my room number, you loser.”

At that Stella let out a huge laugh and the elevator arrived so she stepped in followed by Cougar, Jake behind them.

“Okay, yeah. I’ll give you that one.” Jensen admitted as the elevator doors closed and they headed down.

***

When they got to the big room where the rehearsal party was taking place, the bride and groom were already there greeting all their guests and Stella was immediately introduced to everyone in Jolene’s extended family who hadn’t been at the pool earlier that day. The drinks and conversations were flowing when the wedding planner, a woman with a thick Mexican accent, announced dinner was being served in a few minutes and politely asked them all to find their seats.

The Losers were set to share a table with Pooch’s brother and his girlfriend and a couple of Jolene’s bridesmaids who happened to be her cousins too. The food was delicious and by the time dessert had been served, Stel could swear her dress had shrunk in size but she was damned if she was going to say no to those sinful Tamales. The chocolate on her taste buds, together with all the tequila and cocktails they had consumed during the meal had her in good spirits. She could honestly say she was having a great time and was enjoying herself, only one thing casting a shadow over her jolly mood.

Jolene’s cousin Shanice, secretly renamed by Stella as Corpse Bridesmaid, who was sitting at Jake’s other side, insisted on flirting shamelessly with him, to the point it was embarrassing. So, when her piercing laughter at some of Jake’s shitty quips got everyone at their table startled, Stella shared a glance with Cougar who was sat at her other side and excused herself. Instead of going to the ladies restroom, she went outside, deciding some fresh air would do her good. She wandered out onto the beach a little and sat down breathing in deeply, taking in the peacefulness of the sea in front of her.

Her head was swimming but not just from alcohol. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but it was jealousy. She was jealous of Jake and Corpse Bridesmaid when she wasn’t supposed to be. Right? She wasn’t supposed to be and she didn’t like the feeling either.

And then there was Evan. She knew he was lying about having to work. He’d just used that as an excuse not to come to cover up the real core of the issue. Although he still insisted he was stuck at the office she knew he didn’t have to be there, and that evening, when they had talked on the phone, he had been cold and curt, their conversation mainly made of void questions and monosyllabic answers. Stella breathed in shakily at the memory of that conversation and pulled her phone out for the umpteenth time that night. No messages, no missed calls. Nothing. She sighed and chucked it back on her purse hastily.

“A watched phone never rings, Arty”

She hadn’t heard him approach, absorbed as she was in her own thoughts, but she made no effort to turn around as Cougar was already sitting on the sand next to her.

“Any luck with the blonde bridesmaid, Cougs?” She asked with a soft smile. “Maybe she’s the type that calls.”

“I told you before, I don’t need her to call, just knock.” He joked before turning his head to look at her, studying her features. “What’s going on Arty?”

“Nothing Cougs, just getting a little lightheaded in there.” Stella explained as she nodded her head towards the muffled voices of the party inside.

Cougar nodded. “And I’m assuming it’s not only because of the drinks.”

Stella didn’t reply, she simply looked away not trusting herself to say anything without her voice breaking.

“You know I won’t tell anyone, right? Especially not Jensen.”

Stella sighed and lowered her head as her hands fiddled with the flowers of her dress. “I don’t believe Ev is working. I think he was making excuses not to come.” She finally spoke, before lifting her eyes to meet Cougar’s.

“And why would he be making excuses not to come with you?” Cougar frowned. “I thought he always wanted to spend time with you. That’s why you haven’t been hanging out with us so much anymore, huh?”

Stella raised her eyebrows. “He does. We kinda had an argument about it, well, not really an argument just a discussion about him crowding me and stuff, how he acts about Jake and you guys... and he admitted he was a little full on but said it was because he loved me.”

“Oh, so he threw the big L word there. That’s good, right?” Cougar asked, looking at her confused and a bit concerned as she had looked somehow embarrassed to admit Evan had said he loved her.

Stella looked at him. “Not really Cougs, because when he said it I was paralyzed and then realized I couldn’t say it back.”

“Oh.” He grimaced. “That’s not so good.” He paused for a moment before he continued. “You don’t love him?”

Stella shrugged, feeling calmer now, almost relieved she had finally got it off her chest and shared it with someone. “I thought I was sorta getting there you know, told myself it would happen in time but we’re almost six months in now. And each week I can’t see beyond the next, there’s no long term view there for me, Cougs and…”

“That’s a hard no disguised as a not yet, Arty.” He observed when he noticed Stella was trailing off. And she didn’t reply but looked at the sand instead as there wasn’t really a suitable response to that, least of all because he was right, she knew that much.

“Come here.” Cougar sighed, waving his hand for her to get closer before wrapping an arm around her shoulder and placing a kiss on the top of her head. “What you gonna do about it?”

“Finish it I suppose. That’s the right thing to do isn’t it?” She answered as she laid her head on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I guess it’s certainly the most sensible thing to do, anyway.”

“Well I’m a very sensible person.” Stella chuckled causing Cougar to snort.

“You spent years dating Jensen, I beg to differ.”

“Not my most sensible time.” She quipped.

Cougar laughed, shaking his head in agreement, and when he looked down to watch her he saw she was looking at the sand again, only this time she was smiling as she was clearly remembering something about the time he spent with Jake.

“He still loves you, you know? Jensen I mean.”

Stella’s eyes darted up at him and she scoffed. “You’re insane, Coug? You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Oh I know exactly what I’m saying. And more so you know it’s true.” Cougar stated as he tipped the brim of his hat and winked at her.

****

“Fuck, no, no more!” Jensen waved his hand as Roque grinned widely and held his hands up cheering loudly as Jensen grimaced. Both men had spent the last thirty five minutes doing shots while being cheered, as could not be otherwise, by Corpse Bridesmaid.

“All right, all right, you win Roque. I’m out.” Jensen admitted defeat as he turned around, scanning the dance floor. He frowned when he realized he couldn’t spot Stella, granted he was a bit drunk but he really couldn’t see her anywhere in the room. So he stood up from his seat and blinked twice as everything was a little hazy.

“Hey Clay, you seen Stel?” He asked when he finally steadied himself, brushing his hand through his hair before he pushed his glasses back up his nose. They’d gotten a little too close to falling off whilst he’d been doing those damned shots.

“Nope, it’s been a while since I last saw her.” Clay replied, glancing up at him from where he was sat on his spot at their table talking to Pooch’s brother.

“She went outside a while back. Didn’t say goodbye so I assumed she was coming back but…” Jolene, who had come searching for her cousin, offered but then someone Jensen couldn’t quite place tapped her shoulder so she turned round to talk to them and they left together a few seconds later, leaving him a little puzzled, without answers.

“Okay, I’ll go find her myself. You guys are useless.” He sniffed as he loosened his tie and turned to leave.

Clay rolled his eyes and looked at Roque who shook his head and snorted. “Whatever Jensen, just keep an eye on that tie. Too loose and you’ll lose it.”

“Don’t do anything stupid, Jensen.” Clay warned him, earning a frown from Pooch’s brother and causing Jensen to stop in his tracks.

“What’s that’s supposed to mean?” He asked, turning to look at Clay.

“It means you’ve drunk a lot with Roque and she’s got a boyfriend who is clearly making her upset.”

“I’m fine I…” Jensen began to protest but he immediately paused as Clay’s words registered. “Hang on, what do you mean Shit-Name is making her upset?” He frowned as Clay groaned, realizing he had said too much “Do you know something?”

“Well he’s not here, isn’t he? That should be enough.” Clay tried to brush it off.

Jensen looked at him for a moment before he turned and left the room, contemplating what Clay had just said. Despite the colonel’s attempt to brush it off as an innocent comment, he had once more raised the point that Shit-Name wasn’t here, and none of them really knew why. There was also the fact that Stella had been uncharacteristically flirty with Jake that day, more than their usual good natured quips…was it possible they had split up? But, if they had, surely she would have told him right? But then again, maybe she wouldn’t have told him, not wanting to cloud Pooch’s big weekend with her issues?

The thought was enough to make Jake grin, but the grin disappeared as fast as it had come and he couldn’t help but groan at this train of thought. Nothing would make him happier than that dick to be gone for good but he also didn’t want Stella to be upset and heartbroken. That was part of the reason that, despite his vow on New Years’ Eve to Clay in his parent’s dining room about fighting for her, he’d really tried to behave. He’d watched as her and Evan had gone from, what appeared to be, strength to strength, and, if he had to be honest, he was just grateful they were on good terms and wouldn’t want to jinx his recently fixed friendship with his Stelly for all the gold in the world. Plus, he just wanted her to be happy, she deserved that at least. And, until now, he thought that Agent Shit-Name was making her so…

All those noisy thoughts were clouding his alcohol intoxicated head when he finally made it outside after a quick stop at the restroom. As soon as Jensen’s feet landed on the soft beach sand, he spotted Stella in the distance but she wasn’t alone as Cougar was sitting next to her on the sand with his arm round her.

“What the fuck, Cougs?” He whispered to himself, his jaw twitching a little. “Seriously, you’re going there?”

Both figures wheeled round and looked at him as he drew closer, his constant groans about tripping over on the sand alerting them to his presence. And when they did turn, Jake could see Stella had been crying.

“Stel, what’s going on?” He asked her softly.

Stella hastily wiped her tears and sniffed before speaking. “Nothing, I’m fine. It’s just….” She trailed off as she looked at Cougar with pleading eyes.

“I was telling her stories of my childhood here in Mexico.” Cougar looked at Jake.

“Yeah…” Stella nodded eagerly. “… and it just got me thinking a bit of dad and stuff.”

Jensen glared at Cougar as he squatted beside them both, not for a minute believing the bullshit he had come up with, but then Cougar shot him a look and shook his head gently. Jensen’s frown deepened a little, before he looked at Stella who was now watching the ocean again. He knew she was lying, she had been lying about Evan and about them being fine since she had landed in Mexico that morning, but he also knew now, from Cougs, it wasn’t what his tequila mushed brain had thought some minutes earlier.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed all that to the back of his mind and fixed a smile on his face.

“Well, Stelly, I think the only thing to do here is come dance your sorrows away.” He tried to lighten the mood up a bit as he knew his Stelly had always loved dancing.

She looked at him like he was a moron before she burst out laughing and he shot her a cheeky grin.

“Yasss, come on, Sweetheart.” He pressed as he stood up, helping her up in the process and once they both were standing on their feet Jensen turned around and bent a little. “Jump up! We’re going dancing.”

“You’re not carrying me, moron!” She shook her head as he turned to look at her. “And it’s just one. I had an early morning and I need some rest.” She bent slightly, brushing the sand off her dress, giving Jensen another front row view of her cleavage line and without even looking at him, he nudged Cougar to stop him staring, sending the man sprawling over onto the sand, a string of Mexican expletives escaping his mouth.

“That’s my Stelly.” Jake grinned and she took his hand as she put her sandals back on before Jensen dipped and slung her over his shoulder.

“JJ put me down you ass!” Stella squealed.

“No can do Stel, don’t trust you not to run.” He said amidst laughter.

“Don’t mind me…” Cougar quipped as he remained sprawled on the sand.

“We won’t.” Jensen shot back as he strode up the beach to the bar with Stella over his shoulder, laughing as she slapped his back.

“Jake my boobs are gonna fall out of my dress!” She shouted, slapping his back harder once they were almost reaching the sliding doors that led to the room where the party after the dinner was now in full swing.

“I see no issue with that.”

“God, you’re a dick!” Stella scoffed and Jensen chuckled, eventually putting her down on the bar and looking at her chest. “Hey, my face is up here.”

“I was just… erm…” Jensen gave a goofy smile as he made a grabbing hand gesture in front of her boobs “…checking the twins are still in place and you’re good.”

Stella rolled her eyes at him as she rearranged her dress. “Pervert.”

All in all, and as Jensen had expected, Stella stayed for a little more than one song as she was letting herself go and forget everything. The pair of them just enjoyed themselves, and it was almost as if no time at all had passed, and they were still at some sort of crummy, homecoming or end of year dance at their school’s over decorated sports hall.

Just as they were winding down a rather energetic dance to some form of Nineties dance song, the name of which, Jensen had no idea, Pooch cut the music and stepped up to thank everyone for coming, before he started talking rather drunken and lovingly about Jolene. As Roque and Clay began to heckle, telling him to save the mushy ‘I love yous’ for tomorrow, Stella zoned out a little, thinking about what Cougar had said earlier at the beach. If she was honest, whilst she’d been able to push it away for large chunks of time as she’d been dancing, it had been in the back of her mind all night. Because Cougar had hit the nail on the head, she didn’t love Evan, she didn’t think she ever would, and she couldn’t keep fooling herself. She needed to finish it.

Almost as if he had read her mind, she felt Jake gently take her hand and give it a squeeze and that was it. It all became too much to handle again, and she turned to him giving him a shy smile.

“I’m gonna go Jake, I really am tired.”

Just as she had anticipated, he tried to get her to stay but she refused, declining his offer to walk her back up to her room. She kissed his cheek softly, gave him a smile, and headed off to say goodnight to everyone.

***** Jensen watched her go before dropping his head in defeat. He took a deep sigh, hands on his hips, before Cougar appeared at his side, thrusting a beer he hadn’t even asked for into his hand.

“Thanks.” Jensen whispered, taking a large swig as he studied Cougar. “So what really happened at the beach?”

Cougar hesitated, looking for the best way to give his friend a comforting answer without betraying Stella’s confidence, and it was proving a really difficult task. “She… umm, she told me Evan had said he loved her.” He answered a second or two later, hesitantly.

“What?” Jensen asked, swallowing hard. His beer suddenly felt a bit sandy.

“She didn’t say much more but I’ll let you draw your own conclusions how the whole thing went from how she’s been and the fact he isn’t here.” Cougar shrugged.

Jensen glared at him before taking another sip of his drink. He couldn’t think clearly, it wasn’t time for mind riddles and someone had definitely added that fucking sticky beach sand to his beer, plus, now he was pissed and his mind started spiralling.

Fucking Shit-Name dropping the fucking L word!

But then again, how could he not love her? It was impossible once you knew Stella, and he should know, he had tried it.

And what the fuck? Why hadn’t she told him when he had asked, instead of avoiding the topic all day long and then telling Cougar instead?

And yeah, Cougar could fuck off as well. With a final glare at him, he thrust his beer bottle back into Cougar’s hand and left without as much as a goodbye word.

What might seem common, rational sense to everyone else was never that common or sensible in Jake Jensen’s fucked up mind, least of all when it came down to Stella Stevenson. So, as he headed back to his room and passed hers on his way he stopped and turned back, making her way to her door. He stepped forward, ready to knock, but he dropped his knuckle when it was still mid-air and with a shake of his head and a heavy sigh he carried on.

And now he was also pissed at himself. Great.

******

Chapter 7 Part 2

#too loose and you'll lose it #jake jensen #jake jensen x original female character #jake jensen x ofc #the losers #the losers fan fiction #chris evans #chris evans characters

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royallyprincesslilly · 4 years

Text

Title: Gilded Cage {1}

Lu Xin Lee x OFC Phoenix Argent AU

Warning: Cursing, Blood, Violence, Plot

Words: 1.9k

Summary: Phoenix has been different her entire life. Not just because her father is rich and she has a lovely big house. Phoenix has a secret about her--a secret that can either make her very powerful or very dead. Because of this secret, she’s lived her life in a gilded cage. When she breaks free, that action creates a dangerous and destructive chain of events that soon have Phoenix wondering if she was better off in this cage. That is until a man who moves and kills like the devil but looks like an angel steps in, showing her that sometimes we have to claim our freedom, no matter the consequences.

Note: Surprise!!!!! Okay, we have some Lu Xin Lee from Wu Assassins action. I’m not in love with the cover, so it may change if this continues. Please tell me what you guys think. Should I continue?

As always, thank you so much for reading!

If you enjoyed this please, LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG!!! ❤️❤️

***Loosely Edited/Proofread***

“Shit, shit, shit, shit!”

You picked up the speed that you ran. You had no idea where you were going, but you knew one thing—you had to keep going no matter what. Glancing behind you, the coast was clear, but just because it was clear didn’t mean you were home free. You’d grown up differently than everyone else. There were some things that were ingrained in you, some things that you used even to this day.

A loud clatter snapped you out of your thoughts and brought your head to spin on a swivel to look behind you. Still empty. When you looked back in front of you, two black SUVs were pulling up. They were trying to box you in. Looking around you, you tried to come up with a plan, a way out. There was an alley on your left, and it was the alley you were going to take. Changing your direction, you ran into the alley. Using your quick thinking, you pushed one of the dumpsters to the entryway of the alley, hoping it would slow them down. You knew it wouldn’t stop them.

When you were halfway down the alley, you heard them trying to push the dumpster aside. They argued loudly over who should do what until you heard the screeching sound of it moving.

“Fuck!”

That was when you picked up the speed. You were exhausted. You’d been running for the last eight blocks. Damn San Francisco for having endless hills. The downward slopes weren’t bad, but uphill was a bitch. Once you reached the end of the alley, you turned right to find a brick wall.

“Shit!”

Turning around, you were met with another brick wall. Trapped. Panic set in and with it your fears. You couldn’t let them catch you. It would not end well. Spinning around, you tried to come up with a plan--anything that would help you see another day. You were surrounded by brick. You had nowhere to go.

“You can’t run anymore, Y/N!”

They were getting closer, and you were a fucking sitting duck. If they caught you, you knew how it would end. They’d bring you to him.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck! Think Y/N, think!”

Your panic was increasing as their voices drew near. That was when you looked up and saw a fire escape ladder.

“Ha.”

You backed up and ran to the wall and used it as leverage to bounce off of it to leap into the air and grab the bottom bar of the ladder. You’d almost missed it. Now you were stuck dangling with barely anything else to give. Upper body strength was always your weakness.

“Get up, get up!”

Finding the hidden strength inside of you, you gave it everything you got and pulled yourself up. It was excruciating and took way longer than it should have. Once you could pull yourself up enough to get your foot on the bar, you hugged the cold rusty metal and gasped for air.

“I should have paid closer attention,” you whispered to yourself.

You wanted to stop. You were too tired to keep going, but you had to. The alternative was too dangerous. Placing one foot over the other again and again, you climbed the rusted ladder until you got to the first landing. That was when they rounded into the dead-end. You laid on your back as flat as you could get and held your breath so as not to make a peep. You could hear them looking around below you, questioning where you went.

Several minutes passed with them scratching their heads and blaming each other.

“I told you we should have shot her and have been done with it.”

“Shut up. He wants her alive. She’s no good dead.”

I bet he wants me alive, you thought. Why would he want anything else?

“Let’s double back; that was her hotel. She’ll probably go back there.”

Slowly they trickled out of the alley, but you didn’t move until you were certain their cars had pulled off. Almost fifteen minutes later, you peeped out onto the sidewalk and surveyed the street. There was no sign of them. Turning onto the sidewalk, you flipped your hood onto your head and quickly walked on. You couldn’t go back to your hotel. That meant you had to find somewhere to lay low tonight so you could get out of town at first light.

An hour later, you found yourself sitting inside an Asian restaurant enjoying a meal you were overdue to have. The flavors melded well together, and if it was possible, the restaurant's décor seemed to fit the food you were eating. You loved the wooden elements of the partitions that divided the tables, and even the bamboo plants were strewn around. The feel of the restaurant was classy yet comfortable. You felt like this could have been a place where you would have spent a lot of your time.

An uproar of laughter caught your attention. Looking back, you saw a group of people laughing together. They looked close like they’d been friends for a long time. The beautiful woman with long brown hair slapped one of the guys upside their head, which had the rest of them laughing at his misfortune before teasing him in another language. Was it Thai? Mandarin maybe?

“If things had been different,” you whispered to yourself before finishing the sake in front of you. It was your third one.

With you not being able to use your credit cards because they were easily traceable, you were now down to a few thousand dollars. If you had another day like today, you knew that reserve would dwindle quickly. Groaning, you rubbed the back of your neck, trying to figure out your next move. This city wasn’t familiar to you. You’d only planned on finding Ari so he could help you out of your little problem. Unfortunately, Ari was out of town, and it meant you were now stranded. Either you wait for him to come back, or you made a way for yourself. You hadn’t expected that they’d find you. You’d been so careful.

“Everyone, we’ll be closing in fifteen minutes. Thank you for your service, and I hope you come again.”

That was your queue. You took out a fifty and placed it on the table, and gathered your things ready to go. Before you walked out the front door, you bounced someone.

“Excuse me,” he rushed out. You didn’t bother responding; instead, you nodded and walked outside.

They would look for you at the high-end establishments, you had to turn to seedy, and you were not looking forward to it.

Luckily you found an in-between option. While it was no Ritz Carlton, it was suitable enough. Before you could duck inside, your eye caught sight of someone that looked like they worked for him. Instead of walking through the doors, you stopped on the steps. Trying not to draw attention to yourself, you looked around and saw three more of them just idly standing by.

“Shit,” you whispered. It didn’t look as if they’d seen you just yet. As inconspicuously as possible, you turned around and sauntered down the street you’d just come from.

“Hey! Y/N!”

“Shit!” You picked up running down the street, knowing that they were chasing you. This time you didn't have that much of a lead. You looked back to see they were close enough that if you stumbled, they’d catch you.

When you turned, large, rough hands grabbed you, lifted you into the air, and dropped you to the concrete. The action took the breath right out of your lungs and filled you with pain. You laid there in a groaning heap writhing in pain.

“Jesus Dro, are you insane? She’s a girl!”

“She’s not running anymore, is she?”

“He doesn’t want her hurt. Are you gonna explain this?”

Pulling yourself together, you rolled onto your knees and tried to get up.

“Stop running, Y/N. Just come back with us.”

“Ne—ver!”

“You’re so stubborn. He’ll never stop searching for you.”

You knew it was true.

“You’re his property.”

Feeling a burst of defiance, you gritted your teeth in preparation for what you knew would come, then flung your head back and connected with his nose. It hurt like a son of a bitch, but the satisfaction made it worth it even though your head was now pounding, and your vision was slightly blurry.

“I’m not his property!”

The men around laughed out, and you thought it was enough of an opportunity for you to get away. Somehow you made it a full block before you were surrounded yet again. You stood in the middle, panting, in pain, and annoyed.

“Just let me go! Tell him when you found me someone killed me. He’ll believe it,” you suggested.

“Even then, he’ll hunt for your dead body and make everyone pay for it. I like my chances better bringing you back to him.”

“Please, I have money. My father has a lot of money. I can pay you. Name a price.”

The men laughed, signaling that they had no intention of taking you up on that offer.

“Y/N, your money is no good, and you know why. Just accept it.”

Before you could speak again, gunshots rained down all around you and pierced the bodies of the men that were around you. Screaming, you held your head and prayed that you made it out of this.

“They will come for you. You won’t be able to stop them.”

The words echoed in your memory, and your stomach fell. Was this was what he meant?

When the gunshots stopped, and all was quiet, you slowly lifted your head. All around you, the bodies laid lifeless and oozing blood. None of them were alive. Before you could get up, you saw four figures coming toward you. Terror and exhaustion are what kept you in place to watch them approach you.

“You have two options. Ascend or die.”

You’d heard those words before. You knew full well what was meant by them. You didn’t want to do either. You wanted to live your life, the way you chose—for you. Your father knew it. The years of drilling into you your destiny and chosen path, he thought you’d accepted it. You hadn’t.

“Choose.”

You stood on shaky legs and held your head high. While he hadn’t drilled into you acceptance for this said destiny, he had drilled into you stubbornness, strength, and resilience you often relied on.

“No.”

The one in front of you wore a ski mask in black with a white sun symbol on the forehead. All you saw were their eyes.

“She did say you were stubborn.”

They lifted the gun, pointed it at you, and in seconds everything went in slow motion. You heard the gun go off, but once it did, you were grabbed, hoisted into the air, and moved. Before you knew it, you were on the ground watching one man fight off the four assassins. He moved effortlessly, smoothly, and with absolute control and skill. You couldn’t take your eyes off of the way he moved.

He made it look so easy. He punched, kicked, and overpowered each of them, gliding around like he had wheels for feet. He didn’t even use any guns to defend himself. All he used were his hands. After a few minutes, each of them laid on the ground like the others. You watched him bend down, take up one of the guns, and dig it behind him in the waistband of his pants. Then he turned to you. You weren’t afraid, but you shrunk back. Your vision was quickly getting blurrier with each passing moment. Each second that passed, your body felt heavier and heavier until you dropped onto the ground.

The last thing you saw was Italian leather shoes approaching you. It was all black after that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 5 years

Text

Move Along

For opulenceradiance and mcurhodeytony as they requested. (with slight tweaks but overall I think I got the requests down)

Warnings: nonconsent sex (oral, fingering, intercourse) mentions of death and grieving, kidnapping.

This is dark!Steve and dark!Thor and explicit. 18+ only.

Summary: After the snap, Steve and Thor look for a new purpose.

Note: Alright, yes, I know I’m not writing what you want me to but I am trying y’all. Here’s another request I finally finished. Hope you all enjoy and thanks for all your patience and support.

Please let me know your thoughts and reblog/like <3

It was a blur. Time floated by like dust in the wind. The sky was greyer, the streets grimmer. The city had never been friendly, but now it was heartless. No one said hello, no one looked at each, they only carried on. The world passed by as its citizens stood still.

You could still see it. You couldn't help but think of it. That day. Over and over in your head. In your dreams. Your sister sat at the table as you poured the wine. She was recounting her last disastrous date. You turned to laugh and all at once she was gone. A heap of ashes in her chair. You choked on your giggle. The wine spilled across the tile as the glass shattered at your feet.

It wasn’t just her. It was millions of people. Billions. Half the world just disappeared. And no one knew what to do next. How to move on. How to live. Everyone wanted to forget, yet they couldn’t help but cling to the memories.

You would write her name down. And your mother’s. They wouldn’t be forgotten. You weren’t the only one. The facility was quiet even as the crowds filled the airy arena. Stark Industries had funded a program to record those who disappeared. Plaques would be made and placed in Central Park. In other cities, there were more; at YMCAs and city halls.

It took you a week to find the strength. The courage. It meant acceptance. Resignation. They were gone and you were alone. Everyone handled grief differently. And now, everyone handed it on their own. No one wanted to talk. Or listen. They just wanted to be left alone.

The lines were long despite the desolation of the city. It took an hour of waiting to get inside the compound. The queue moved a step at a time. You could see the tables ahead of you. Only a few words passed as people moved along.

“Write the names. Take this. Move along.”

You recognized the man as he handed you the pen. It was your turn. He looked much unlike the posters that displayed the valiant Captain America. He looked tired. Defeated. “Name, or names.” He pointed to the list. “You can include their birthday if you like. Or an epitaph.”

You stared at him. The pen slipped from your hand. Your fingers were shaky as you felt around for it. He grabbed it and gave it back to you. You bent over the folder and steadied your hand. It felt like an eternity. The ink stained the page in rigid lines. They were more than that. More than names.

You finished and dropped the pen again. You stood straight and blinked as you looked around. “Miss,” The voice was distant as you glanced around at the strangers. Those still alive. Why were they here? Why were you? “Miss. Are you okay?”

You snapped back. Your vision cleared and you blinked at the golden-haired avenger. You nodded and sniffed. “Y-yeah, I’m...fine.”

You slowly moved on. The next person stepped up. He took the pen and handed it to them but he watched you go. You turned and wandered away. Blind to the crowd around you. Lost in a sudden fog.

You were stopped as you collided with a wall. You grumbled and backed up. It wasn’t a wall at all. It was man. As familiar as the last. Another Avenger. The Asgardian king. He looked angry. Unimpressed by your disturbance as he stared down at you.

“Excuse me, sorry,” You backed away. “I wasn’t looking…”

“It’s fine,” He crossed his arms as he narrowed his eyes. “Worse things have occured.”

He brushed you off and walked away. You turned to watch him go. He went to the table where the others sat. He dropped heavily into a chair and opened a folder. He handed a pen wordlessly to another mournful New Yorker. He scowled as the pen scratched across the paper.

The table was lined with those who were supposed to save you from disaster. Those who had failed to keep half the world from extinction. Natasha Romanoff, better known as the Black Widow, rubbed her eyes and yawned. The three of them looked worse than you felt. The beacons of humanity extinguished.

You tucked your hands in your pocket and weaved through the crowd. It was over. This was the new world, though it felt like the end. The hordes of dead mourning those who had lived.

Steve watched the woman go. She was no different from the hundreds he had seen that day so he couldn't explain why he noticed her. Why he checked the list after she went. Why his eyes followed her aimless path through the crowd.

He only knew that he noticed her and that for whatever reason, he couldn't stop thinking about her. All through the day and the lines of people come to mourn. As they cleaned up the tables and chairs, he caught himself trying to picture her face. The look in her eyes. He repeated the names she had left in ink.

When they finished up, he went back to his room and ate alone. The compound was quiet now. There were a few of them left; Steve, Thor, Nat, and Bruce. Tony left to live his life and a few of the others suggested they'd do the same. Steve had no idea what 'a life' would mean for him.

He laid awake; restless. He thought of her again. It was odd to think that everyone in the world felt the same as him now. Displaced, empty, lost. It was even comforting. He rolled over and rubbed his eyes. She was just another stranger.

The next day he typed the names in. He shouldn't have but he couldn't help it. Her mother and sister. He found her information with theirs. She looked tired in her photo. The typical DMV grimace found on one's license. She wasn't anything remarkable. He wouldn't pick her out of a crowd. Forgettable. Easily missed.

He took out the small notebook he kept in his jacket pocket. He scrawled down her address and that of her workplace. She worked in a municipal office. Easy enough to find. With his clearance, he could even access the cameras.

He would start simple. He'd watched her from afar. Figure out her routine. Her route to and from work, when she woke up, when she went to bed, what she did in between. She was easy enough to track. Careless, even.

On the weekends, she'd go to a cafe near her building. She'd sit on the patio and read. He watched from across the street. He sat on the steps outside a realtor that was never open outside the work week. He was just another loiterer.

He wrote down the time under the day's date, what she wore, where she sat. He tucked away the notebook and leaned his elbows on his knees. He'd gone to the cafe once. She didn't notice him as she sat in the corner and hunched over her mug. Good.

He sighed and rubbed his cheek. He wasn't sure what to do next. He'd been watching her for weeks. Autumn was quickly coming to an end and he did not like the thought of sitting out in the snow. He wasn't ready yet.

"Hey," Steve looked up in surprise at the familiar voice.

He hadn't seen Thor much. The Asgardian had been distracted as he tended to his homeless kingdom. His time in the compound was spent arguing with a woman called Valkyrie. Steve didn't see much of anyone. But her.

"Uh, hey," Steve stood suddenly. "What are you--hey."

"Just...walking around." Thor said evenly. He shrugged and looked down the gritty pavement. "Wandering."

"Oh, yeah. Me too." Steve lied. "I get a bit claustrophobic in the compound."

"Mmm," Thor nodded. "I know what you mean." He squinted as he considered Steve. "Well, guess I'll leave you be."

"Yeah, see ya." Steve tried to smile and glanced across the street. She was leaving. She slung her purse across her chest and left her empty mug for the busser.

Thor grumbled and carried on. Steve barely noticed him go as he kept his attention on her. She took her usual route. She'd pass by the antiques shop and look through the window at the wares. He kept to the other side of the street though he doubted she'd notice if he were right behind her.

He watched her walk up the steps of her building as he stood by the mouth of an alley. He was spooked again as he sensed a shadow behind him. He frowned as he turned and found Thor nearing. The god's blue eyes were aimed across the street.

"You following me?" Steve accused and bristled.

"Nah," The god answered casually and looked to Steve. "But I think we might be following the same person."

"I'm not…I'm just walking." Steve stammered.

"She's oblivious." Thor ignored his fib. "Almost as much as you. She might not have caught on, but you're not hard to figure out."

He gulped. He didn't know what to say. How to explain what he was doing. What was he doing?

"Wait...what do you mean...following the same person?" Steve asked.

Thor chuckled. "Didn't realize until a week ago we had the same idea. Saw you watching her. I left real quick thinking you'd see me first."

"How long have you--"

"Two months, roughly. She's...easy." He carefully chose his words. "Same streets, same times. She thinks she's invisible. She may as well be. In this world, another person missing…"

"Missing?" Steve echoed. "What do you mean?"

"You're not following her just to watch." He grinned. "Although...if you're into that, I've something interesting to show you."

"What...you want to...I mean, what were you gonna do?" Steve sputtered.

"Eh, it'll be better if we work together. More efficient. Don't you think?"

"You're saying we should…" Steve blinked and his cheeks burned. He had dreamed of it but he just couldn't find the courage to do it. Not yet.

"The basement of the compound. Tony built all those chambers for the trainees. Well, it's not happening now is it? No one ever goes down there but it's all still there." Thor clapped Steve's shoulder as his eyes gleamed. "Come on. We've a lot to catch up on."

Thor led Steve into the room in the basement. He had left most of it as he'd found it. The walls were thick and soundproof and none would be close enough to hear an activity as it was. Each room was designed to house a single person. A kitchenette, a bathroom, a bed. It was perfect.

He closed the door as Steve entered and hit the lights. He neared the small table beside the kitchenette and sat. He waved Steve over and hit power on the laptop. He'd become quite accustomed to Midgard technology. He had to as Valkyrie called quite frequently to report on New Asgard.

"Sit." He pointed to the other chair at the table. "Oh, perfect," He moved his fingers on the pad as Steve pulled the chair up. "Look."

He sat back and watched the footage on the screen. The woman pulled her shirt off and shoved her jeans down. She moved around in her underwear and grabbed a towel from the cupboard just out of frame. He could feel his cock twitch.

"How?" Steve wondered.

"Just outside her window. I thought of sneaking in but... it's good enough for now." Thor explained proudly. "Spends most her time in here. Reading, watching television... doesn't sleep much."

Steve looked at him. Thor boomed in laughter at the shock on his face.

"I've still got some work to do. Could use the extra hands." He said. "So?"

"You want to...share her?" Steve asked.

"In a manner of speaking." He stood and Steve leaned in to look closer at the screen. Thor walked around the room and sighed. "The door needs a lock on the outside. A proper one. Straps on the bed. Maybe cuffs... She's a little thing but I think she might have more fight to her than it looks."

"Straps? Cuffs?" Steve turned in the chair.

"Just in case. A precaution. I don't want to hurt her…" He neared and switched windows. "I've set up cameras in here already. Got some books for her. Some clothes."

Steve's mouth fell open. Thor could see his thoughts behind his blue eyes. It wasn't judgement, it was curiosity. Excitement.

"It's a small world now and not so many are eager to rebuild it," Thor said. "She could be a start to rebuilding."

Steve nodded and his lips parted in realization. A small smile rose to the surface and he stood. "Yeah, I think she could."

There weren’t as many people to help these days. The lines were much shorter at the municipal offices than before. However, there was also less people left to do the work. And you no longer just dealt with the living; there were thousands of records to purge from your systems. Many more death certificates than birth certificates.

Your job had never been particularly fun but now the office felt lifeless. The people who waited for their number and came to your window were glum. No small talk, no courteous half-smiles, they said their purpose and you processed them as quickly as you could.

It reminded you of those lined up to record the names of the lost. You wondered if you shared the same hopeless expression that had sombered the faces of the defeated Avengers. You photocopied, faxed, and stamped. It was mindless work. You were glad for it. You didn’t have to think. You could just be.

The days passed in a grey blur. The autumn sun faded to early winter clouds. You spent your weekend inside or ventured down to the cafe on the corner to indulge in a specialty brew. You rarely tasted it. Merely enjoyed the nostalgia of the place. Almost as if all was normal. The lines remained there. People always needed their fix.

As snows threatened, the cafe closed their patio. No chairs left to sit and stare up into the void. It was a Sunday. The city was silent. You took your cinnamon latte and walked until you found a park. The cold grass was littered with dead leaves and muddied pinecones. Barren branches crested the trails and beckoned to the grieving populace.

You sat on a stone bench and pressed your cold palms to the warm cup. You looked around. A few birds here and there. The flocks were smaller now; the squirrels even more timid. There were others there. Silent, hands in their pocket, eyes glued to the ground. Most were alone.

You sipped from your paper cup and leaned back as you crossed your legs. You wished you had thought to bring your headphones. You hated the silence. You chewed on the rim of the cup as you stared into the street. The cars passed just outside the entrance. The city no longer trapped in eternal deadlock.

It was easier to be a New Yorker now. Easier to ignore others on the subway and avoid human interaction on the street. You were all complicit in the new world order. Keep your head down, your mouth shut, and move along.

The sky shifted and you glanced over as a shadow flickered in your peripheral. Just another pedestrian. Hoodie pulled low as he dragged his feet along the paved trail. Another man sat by the stream and threw rocks into the water.

You looked back to your cup. What remained of your drink was cold and bitter. You stood and tossed it in the bin next to the bench. Leaves swirled around your legs and the clouds darkened.

A drop of rain splattered on the ground before you. And another. Then another. It was cold enough for snow but the rain fell in bountiful orbs and shattered against the pavement. You ducked your head down and shivered. Your wool jacket would soon be soaked through.

You got home from the park and shed your sopping wool coat. The rain poured down harder and harder the closer you got to home. As you hung the dripping coat in your shower, a crack of thunder made you jump.

You rushed into the main room of your apartment and lightning flashed. The windows shuddered as the rain hammered against them. It was unusual for a thunderstorm to rise so close to winter. Weirder things had happened.

You changed into a nightshirt and a pair of cotton panties. You grabbed your phone and flopped onto your bed. You'd order take out and hope the driver made it through the storm. Your stomach grumbled and you echoed it. Another grim day.

You spent the night in bed as you usually did. The Chinese food was wholly unsatisfying but it was better than nothing. You settled in to watch pointless DIYs on Youtube and yawned through the ads.

The storm quieted and you sank into a lull. Your eyes closed but your mind never really stopped. You floated atop the mattress and the dark shrouded you in its arms. The television flickered through your eyelids, its speakers faded to a buzz in your head.

You didn't know how long it was before you woke. The television still glowed in the dark and your eyes were blurry as you felt around for your phone. You grabbed it and stopped the stream. You hit the power button on the remote and fell back on your pillows.

In the silence, you heard a creak, the whistle of the wind, and shadows swirled through the dim. You rolled onto your back and sighed as your drowsiness began to slake awake. You didn't have a chance to scream as the spectre sat beside you and a hand clapped across your mouth.

You grabbed at the hand as you struggled and a prick in your neck made your eyes water. Your limbs turned to lead and went limp as the black closed in to a pinpoint. A final flash of light before it all turned to dust.

When you woke next, your head was heavy and your muscles were stiff. Your vision cleared and revealed a ceiling not your own. You tried to sit up but found your arms and legs restrained. You looked around at the small room.

You dropped your head back to the pillow and groaned. Whatever you'd been knocked out with was potent. You felt weak. Even more vulnerable as the straps held you down. The door opened and you closed your eyes. You trembled as footsteps neared the bed.

"Please, I don't know who you are." You croaked through your dry throat. "I haven't seen you. I don't know where we are. Y-you can still let me go."

"Oh, but you do know who I am." The voice was barely familiar. Not immediately at least. He had an accent but it wasn't telling. A weight dipped the side of the bed as the stranger sat beside you. "You can open your eyes."

"I-I-I don't want to." You stuttered.

"You can refuse to but it won't get you out of here. I'm afraid…there is no way out of here. For your good and ours." He said. "And I must advise you that your disobedience will do you no favours."

"Ours?" Your voice cracked. "What do you mean 'ours'?"

"We'll get to that but first I want you to open your eyes." He spoke calmly but there was malice in his tone. "If you are good, I might untie you. Give you some food, if you're hungry."

You gulped. You bit down and pulled against the straps. You sighed and let your eyes flutter open. You slowly looked to him and your lips parted in shock. You did know him. Or you at least knew of him. An Avenger. A hero. It was truly a new world.

"Good." Thor ran his fingers along your side and smiled down at you. "It will be some time before I can untie you. I must await my associate." He stood and you shivered as the shadow of his touch remained. "Be patient, little one, and it will not be too long."

He turned and walked to the door. You lifted your head to watch his broad shoulders. "Wait, please." You whimpered. "Why are you doing this?"

He stopped and looked over his shoulder as his hand rested on the handle. "Patience." With that he left you and the click of the door echoed in your head. Your head fell back to the pillow and you sobbed. What the fuck?

In the time you were left to dread Thor's return, you stared at the white ceiling and tried to clear your head. Looking around the room made the pit in your stomach deeper. The kitchenette, the small door slightly ajar, the bed, every inch was designed for your occupation. One which could last forever.

When the handle turned next you didn't bother looking up. The blood coursed through your veins and your heart raced. There were two sets of footsteps. You trembled and fought to keep from hyperventilating.

"You should untie her." Another voice rose and Thor grumbled. "I think we can handle her."

A sigh and Thor appeared beside the bed. He unstrapped your wrists and ankles and stepped back. "Better you don't try anything." He warned.

You watched him retreat and sat up numbly. You were just as stunned to lay eyes on the other man in the room. Steve Rogers stared at you. His fingers twitched at his side as you pulled your knees up to your chest. You still wore the nightshirt and plain panties.

"You gone over rules?" He asked. Thor shook his head and sat in one of the chairs at the round table. Steve crossed his arms and neared the end of the bed. "You know who we are."

You nodded. It wasn't really a question. You knew them and they apparently knew you.

"But you don't know why you're here." You stared and he continued. "Right, before we get into that, there is the most important rule. When you are spoken to, you are to reply. 'Yes, sir' will do just fine but Captain works as well." He stopped at the foot of the mattress. "Your majesty for my friend, I guess."

"My king, your highness, what have you." Thor said casually.

"Understood?" Steve stared at you.

"Yes...sir." You forced out. Even if there wasn't a locked door, you had no hope against the two of them.

"Good." Steve dropped his arms, his hands decisively on his hips. "The world is much smaller than it used to be. So many lives lost. It's sad but we are still here. There is still a world left. A world we can rebuild. Replenish."

"Just say it, Steve," Thor growled and looked over at you. "We need people. And in such a state, no one's fucking anymore. So... we've got a dozen rooms down here and time to spare."

"Thor, come on," Steve chided.

"You're the first. Hopefully not the last. We're merely testing the waters here." Thor smirked. "You should be honoured. A concubine to two great men. Men of title."

"Why…" You looked between them fearfully. "Why me?"

"You're young enough and you won't be noticed." Thor said. "Besides you've got that lost look in your eyes. You need the distraction. A sense of purpose."

"We're gonna take care of you. Everything you need. The only thing you need to do is do as you're told." Steve explained. "Easy enough, right?"

You frowned. Your body was numb, as if it wasn't yours. You shivered and forced your voice to rise. "Yes, sir."

Steve smiled and Thor leaned on the table. He picked at the wood and huffed.

"You hungry?" Steve asked.

You shook your head and quickly corrected yourself. "No, sir."

"Okay. Well, you should get up and walk around. Get your blood flowing. We'll go over the rules." Steve backed away and paced the room.

"Yes, sir." You mumbled and shyly crawled across the bed. You stood unsteadily and glanced around.

"You need something, you ask. Please and thank you. We will provide whatever you need within reason." Steve began and Thor nodded as he leaned his chin in his hand. "You wear what we give you. If it's nothing at all, so be it. You do everything we say, no argument. Got it?"

You took a few steps and stopped. "Yes, sir." What else could you say?

"Great. So, you will get cleaned up." Steve crossed to the dresser and pulled out a pair of lace panties and a matching bra. Neither was practical. He gathered them and turned to near you. "Take a shower, do your hair, freshen up." He handed you the lingerie. "Everything you need should be in there." His fingers brushed yours and you winced. "Let's make the first time special."

You looked down at the lace. Floral patterns decorated the delicate fabric. Steve backed away and crossed the room to push the small door to the left of the kitchenette entirely open. Thor tilted his head as he watched your hesitation and you made yourself move.

You passed Steve and entered the small bathroom. He closed the door behind you. You turned in the tight space and shuddered. Everything was so carefully prepared.

You set down the underwear on the counter and took stock of the place. A new toothbrush and a tube of paste. You opened the cupboard to find a hair brush, dryer, straightener, a zip-up case of cosmetics, razors, lotion...more than you needed.

You looked into the mirror. A post-it attached to its face. You sniffed and grabbed it. A list; brush teeth, shower, shave, moisturize, dry hair, style, light makeup only, dress. Shit.

There was no window. You guessed this place was underground. The way sound was airtight. They'd be smart enough for that. They had seemingly thought of everything. Everything to keep you.

You followed the list. After so long being numb you felt everything at once and it had you in shock. All the despair, all the anger, all the fear, left a fragment of a person. There was not enough left to fight.

The bathroom walls seemed to shift and close in tighter. You dried your hair and checked off each bullet point in your head. You hadn't bothered with anything more than the basics since the snap. Brush your teeth, comb your hair, dress, and out the door. The bare minimum. The standard of the new world.

The bra pinched you with its underwire and the panties threatened to ride up. Neither offered modesty. You could see it all. The flowers along the white lace did little to distract from your nipples or the vee of your pelvis.

You gripped the edge of the counter and exhaled. Your chest felt as if it would cave in. A tear pricked at your eye and you sniffed it back. You didn't want your mascara to run. You feared what they'd do if you weren't perfect. The straps across the bed loomed in your mind.

A knock came at the door. You jumped and your lip trembled dangerously. Don't cry. Stop. Just keep your head down, your mouth shut, and move along.

"You okay?" Steve asked through the wood.

What were you supposed to say? You weren't okay. You were trapped down here. Expected to…

You turned to the door and opened it. He stepped back and his eyes widened as they took in all of you. You held onto the door as your legs threatened to crumple beneath you. You heard the scrape of the chair and Thor's shadow appeared in your sights.

You felt his gaze too. You tried not to look at either of them. You stared at the floor and stood in the doorway.

"Come on," Steve offered his hand. "You look...amazing."

"Thank you, sir," You murmured and took his hand.

You shook and he squeezed your hand as if to comfort you. But it was him that you feared. Both of them. He guided you away from the bathroom as Thor moved along your peripheral.

"Good girl," Steve praised as he let you go to in the middle of the room.

You stood and watched as Thor revealed a bar from the narrow closet on the other side of the room. Your breath caught in your chest as you realized what it was; metal cuffs at either end. He turned to you and you dashed to the thick metal door and clawed at the handle.

"Please, let me out. You can't do this. Please." You cried as the door wouldn't budge. You felt a presence beside you and were dragged back as strong hands gripped your arms.

"Shhh, it's okay. Don't make this harder than it needs to be." Steve coaxed.

"I told you we should've just left her on the bed." Thor growled. "Easier."

"Just help me," Steve demanded as you tried to wriggle free.

He turned you and Thor caught your foot as you kicked out. He hooked one end of the bar to your ankle and you exclaimed. Steve held you from behind as you struggled to keep your other foot from Thor's grasp. He grabbed your leg roughly and forced the other cuff around your ankle.

Your legs were kept apart by the long bar and you leaned precariously against Steve. You tried to free yourself from him but he clung to you. "I let go and you're gonna mess up that pretty little face so let's not be stupid here. Yeah?"

Thor went back to closet and pulled out a chest. He stirred around in it and turned back with a roll of black tape.

"What did I say about answering me?" Steve snarled.

"Y-yes, sir." You rasped. "Please, don't let him-- You don't have to do this. Let me go, please."

Thor laughed as he neared and grabbed your left wrist. You struggled but he was much too strong. He tugged you forward so that you bent and Steve's hands fell to your hips to keep you from falling.

Thor pressed your wrist to your ankle and taped it there. He did the same to your other as every muscle strained in the awkward position. Thor stood and Steve brought you back so that your ass was against his crotch. He wiggled his hips and you felt his erection.

"Deal's a deal," Steve huffed. "You get her first."

You could hear the rustle of clothing and Thor's heavy footfalls. You gulped and wobbled on your feet as Steve held you in place.

"You better hurry the fuck up." Steve urged.

Thor growled and Steve moved out from behind you. Thor replaced him and a thicker hand gripped your hip. His other crawled along your panties and pushed them aside to dip his fingers between your folds.

"Take her mouth," He growled. "She's not wet enough."

You couldn’t move. You’d fall over if you got free and his hold on you was much too tight.

You whimpered as you sensed Steve near and Thor kept his fingers on your pussy. He played around with your bud as you tried not to feel it. You heard a zipper and Steve grabbed your head and pulled it back as far as it could go. His cock stood above his open fly and your eyes rounded.

He bent his knees and poked his tip along your lips. You tried to shake your head but he held you in place and Thor pushed against your ass to urge you closer. Steve tightened his grip on your head until you opened your mouth and he slid inside. You choked as he hit the back of your throat but he didn’t stop.

Thor’s fingers sped up and you quaked as you fought to resist the sudden tingle spreading through you. You gurgled around Steve’s cock as you felt Thor’s prod your ass. You didn’t realize he was naked. You rocked helpless between them and Thor continued to toy with you as Steve guided your mouth.

Thor slipped his fingers back and shoved two inside of you roughly. They were thick and stretched you more than you expected. He slid them in and out as your arousal spread along his hand and your pussy. You closed your eyes in shame as your body betrayed you. You gagged as Steve’s motion didn’t waver and he groaned loudly with each thrust.

Thor pressed his thumb to your clit as he continued to work his fingers inside you. Your eyes rolled back at the sensation that rose from his touch. Sparks radiated from your core and flowed through you as he pushed you to your edge. You struggled to breath around Steve’s cock and the sound of your wetness mingled with his sighs.

You came with a quiver. Thor chuckled as he eased you through your climax. “She’s ready now.” Thor announced. “Very responsive.” He removed his slick fingers and wiped them along your ass. “Hurry up and cum so I can fuck her.”

“In her mouth? It’d be a waste,” Steve panted but didn’t stop.

“In her mouth. We agreed. Me first.” Thor slapped your ass and kneaded the flesh.

Steve grunted and sank to the back of your throat. You choked and he pulled back only to slam back in. He gave long thrusts as his fingers spread across the sides of your head. He groaned and you felt the sudden gush of warmth. He stilled as his cum filled your mouth and trickled down your throat. He rocked his hips and purred before he pulled out. You gasped as spit and semen dripped from your lips.

He caressed your cheek and backed away. “Go on then.” He said to Thor.

You hung your head and wrapped your fingers around your ankles to steady yourself. Your throat was ragged and your shoulders ached. Thor shifted you back as he bent his knees and pulled on the lace panties until they tore. You shook your head and held back as sob as he leaned in and wetted his cock along your folds.

You braced yourself as he aligned himself with your entrance. He filled you in one quick thrust. You cried out at the pain. His length stretched you terrible and the force of his intrusion added to the strain. Your legs buckled but the bar kept you from collapsing.

“Fuck, take it easy on her,” Steve sneered. “Don’t wanna break the poor girl.”

Thor growled but didn’t respond as he pulled back and slammed back into you. He jolted your entire body as he did and you bit your lip to keep from screaming. He kept his thrusts sharp, deliberate, and hard. His heavy breaths punctuated his deep groans and your weak whimpers.

He lifted you so that your feet were off the floor and he snapped his hips against your ass. You mewled as another orgasm began to build through the torture. Your pussy clung to his cock and quivered around him as you came. Another wave of shame. You sniffed and bid yourself not to cry.

“Gods,” Thor growled and your feet were back on the floor as he rutted against you. “Ah, fuck.”

His thrusts turned wild, frantic even. You felt his cum spill inside of you but he did not stop. He filled you and fucked you until you could feel the mix of your juices seeping out around his cock. When he pulled out, the mess gushed from you and trickled down your thighs.

He let go and you tipped forward. You were caught before you could crash into the hardwood and Steve held you up by your shoulders. He was naked. His blue eyes burned over your shoulder as he watched Thor retreat.

“Hey, what the fuck?” He hissed.

“She’s fine,” Thor retorted. “Go on then. Your turn.”

Steve shook his head and turned his attention to you. He steadied you and reached to rip away the tape. With your hands free, you balanced yourself with palms on the floor and Steve moved around you. He was behind you on his knees as he unlocked the cuffs and tossed the key to Thor who lingered out of sight.

He helped you stand and you touched your aching back. He snaked his arm around your waist and led you towards the bed. You felt disgusting already. Your face and pussy slick with cum and spit. You tried to plant your feet before you came upon the foot board but Steve kept you moving.

“I don’t want to tie you up,” He said quietly. “But I will. It’s better you start co-operating.”

You looked at him with revulsion. His gaze turned dangerous and you glanced over at Thor as he hovered along the sidelines. His eyes watched you as his softening cock began to twitch. “Yes, sir,” You gulped and lowered your eyes.

“Alright, get on the bed.” Steve ordered. “On your back.”

You pursed your lips and climbed up wordlessly. You fell back and shuddered. He followed and pushed your legs apart as he knelt between them. You turned your head and stared at the wall. You were surprised as his hand cupped your tits and he bent over you. He slid the bra down your arms and buried his face in your chest.

He nibbled along your skin and played with your nipples until they were hard. He covered one with his mouth and suckled as his other hand crawled along your vee. He delved between your lips and you flinched as his finger brushed over your clit.

He angled his cock as he moved his hips and poked his fingers inside as he felt around. He pulled them out and spread your pussy as he aligned his tip against your entrance. He slid inside of you slowly and sank his teeth into your breast. You squeaked in surprise.

He brought himself to his limit and lifted his head. His golden hair fell across his forehead as he began to rock his hips. He sat back and held your thighs apart as he thrust into you. He watched his cock glide in and out and his lips parted hungrily.

You dug your fingers into the duvet as he fucked you. The springs bounced beneath you and added to frenzy of his hips. He grabbed your wrists and forced your hands up beside your head. He sped up as he kept your hands pinned and his groans turned ferocious.

You gulped and gasped and moaned. You came again but barely noticed as it all blurred to a haze. He fucked you harder and harder. He didn't let up until your voice rose louder and louder; overwrought and desperate.

He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on your wrists. He snapped his hips forward and sighed. He came with a series of jerky thrusts and eased himself to a stop. He breathed shakily and sat up. He watched his cock slide out of you and spread his cum along your pussy with the tip.

"Mmmm," He licked his lips and his shoulders slumped.

Thor came up beside the bed and you pathetically crossed your arms to cover yourself. Then men looked to each other and smirked. Steve carefully crawled out from between your legs and Thor replaced him.

"What a good little pet," He pinched your thigh as he stroked his cock. "One day, you will carry a god. What a glorious purpose."

"A god?" Steve scoffed as he lingered at the side of the bed. "We'll see about that."

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